Cash-strapped EBM stays away from emergency services

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 10 SEPT: Owing to lack of its “own fund” the English Bazaar Municipality (EBM) has allegedly failed to take up emergency public service works. The Opposition leaders alleged that the civic body has cancelled some projects and its tender when the agencies, who were assigned for implementing the projects, refused to work demanding payment of their dues pending over the past few years. The contractors were willing to work on the government projects where the payment is being ensured at present, but they refused to work on the projects run by the EBM. The Opposition leader of the Congress, Trinamul Congress and BJP led board, Mr DN Chaki, who is also the CPI-M councillor, said: “Many emergency works like the maintanance of street lights, water services, and roads before Pujas are being hampered due to EBM's fund crunch."“A total of Rs 5 crore is due and the civic body has failed to pay the agencies who had completed the civic body's works earlier”, he added.The vice-chairman of EBM, Mr Dulal Sarkar, initially denied the allegations and said that the road repairing work for Id and Durga puja would start soon and that contractors had already been given work orders.However, Mr Sarkar said that councillors had carried out many activities which were beyond the civic body's estimation. As a result, the civic body was facing difficulties to arrange funds to make payment for ‘excessive’ work done in many wards earlier. “We are waiting for the government's grant. We hope that will solve all the problems that we are facing," he added.On the other hand, the Opposition leaders claimed that the civic body had to pay Rs 1.5 crore to casual workers every year in various sectors from its own funds ignoring the guidelines of the directorate of local bodies. The former chairman of the EBM and the Congress MLA from English Bazaar, Mr Krishnendu Choudhury said: “The civic body can not make payment from its own funds beyond its allotted budget”.

English Bazaar fails dumping ground deadline

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 9 SEPT: The English Bazaar Municipality (EBM) has sought an extension of the time allotted to it, for dumping garbage at the vat located at Chandan Park in Malda town. A request plea was sent to the district magistrate.Following resistance from locals earlier, the administration had allowed the civic body to dump garbage for a 30-day period starting from 8 August at Chandan Park. But the civic body could not find an alternative place for the purpose even as the mont-long allowance has come to an end. A few days ago the Malda district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, sent a letter to the civic body chief, Mr Narendranath Tiwari, requesting him to see that garbage is not dumped at Chandan Park. Mr Ghosh mentioned that the district administration had plans of setting up a Muslim girls’ hostel there.After a proposal from Mr Abdus Sattar, minister of state for minority affairs and madrassa education, the district administration earmarked this plot of land, which falls in the category of Wakf estate. Though the civic body had been looking for a suitable alternative land for dumping garbage following the locals’ protest and the administration's instructions, the vice-chairman of the EBM Mr Dulal Sarkar said: “We would not give up the land for setting up a hostel for Muslim girls. The land is a property of the civic body as we have been using the land for over 60 years as vat”. He also said: “We have written a letter to the district magistrate seeking an extension of the earlier fixed deadline. We have requested the district magistrate to allow us to dump garbage there till the end of Id and Durga puja”.“We have selected land in three places near Lakshmipur, Jaharatala and Bagbari in English bazaar but nothing has been finalised yet,” said Mr Sarkar.