Malda SP blames PWD for not utilising fund

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Nov. 5: The Malda SP Mr Satyajit Bandyopadhayay has expressed unhappiness over the role of public works department (PWD) in this district for failing to utilise a fund of Rs 30 lakh allotted for the construction of a new building in English Bazaar Police Station (EBPS) premises.

Mr Badyopadhayay blamed the PWD officials for the delay in the execution of the project and has given them an ultimatum for the construction of the building. According to Malda SP: “The Central government is always ‘threatening’ us for not using the funds on time. The fund was allotted in 2005-06 under the BADP (border area development project) for EBPS.

“Even the central government has told us that it would adjust unutilised fund (allotted for EBPS) with the fresh allotment for police department under BADP,” Mr Bandyopadhayay said.

The executive engineer of PWD in Malda, Mr S Das, admitted that his department, since the tenure of his predecessor, could not have finalised the project due to technical reasons though a tender had been also floated.

Mr Das argued that the police department had also wasted time in selecting lands in the EBPS premises and the building design had been changed.

“Finally it has been decided that a new three storied building would be constructed at the present location within the existing police station,” he said adding that: “I know that the new Malda SP is so unhappy with us. I urged him to speak to our chief engineer about the matter”.

Interestingly, based on the soil test report, the PWD engineer changed the construction design, increasing in the process the estimated cost of the three-storied building. The executive engineer Mr Das said: “The market price of materials has increased and the present cost of the building has been estimated at Rs 67 lakh,”

Mr Das also said that he was going to Kolkata today to finalise the proposed project. “If the police department could arrange Rs 27 lakh more we would be able to start the construction work after completing some formalities,” he said.