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Bengal

KMC mulls naming apartment project after Abhijit Banerjee

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is mulling the idea of naming one of its upcoming apartment projects for relocation of slum-dwellers after Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee.

The matter was recently discussed at a high-level meeting in KMC headquarters, where Mayor Firhad Hakim was present.

The civic body is also planning to come up with a plaque adjacent to his apartment at Ballygunge Circular Road in South Kolkata, as a tribute to him. "We will also come up with a special edition of our monthly magazine Puroshree to honour Banerjee," said a senior official of KMC who attended the meeting.

The edition will come out after the state government organises a programme to honour the Nobel laureate, when the latter finds time out of his busy schedule abroad to come and stay in the city.

It may be mentioned that the civic body had also brought out a special edition of Puroshree, after Amartya Sen had won the Nobel prize in 1998.

At present, the Town Planning & Town Development (TP & TD) department of the civic body is executing two projects at Behala in South Kolkata, in which dwelling units are being constructed for slum residents.

A similar project has been planned at 33 Canal South Road in Tangra, for which the DPR has been submitted to the state Municipal Affairs department for its necessary approval.

According to an official of KMC, 90 dwelling units will come up at 113, Upen Banerjee Road, at an approximate cost of Rs 10 crore. There will be three separate buildings with 30 flats in each. These units will make provisions for relocation of the slum-dwellers of Sakal Deo Singh slum.

Meanwhile, 120 dwelling units will come up at ward 131 near Santi Sangha School in Behala, at a cost of Rs 15 crore. There will be three buildings with 40 apartments in each of the blocks. The tenders for two of the blocks have already been floated.

These two projects are being executed under the Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) project. The project does not exist by its name, but work under it is still going on.

256 flats have been planned at 33 Canal South Road and the DPR that has been prepared has stated the cost to be around Rs 30 crore. The area is low lying and piling work needs to be done to raise the height before construction.

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