Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has completed renaming all slums in the city as “Uttaran” zones, marking the full rollout of its initiative to replace the word “slum” with a term that signifies upliftment and dignity.
“We have installed arches and signage with the new name at the entrances of almost all the 3,500-odd slums in Kolkata. All civic amenities—drainage, sanitation, lighting, roads, water supply—have been provided and development work is continuing,” said Swapan Samaddar, Member-Mayor-in-Council (Uttaran Services).
Mayor Firhad Hakim said that under the sanitation programme for 2025–26, KMC has constructed 184 sanitary latrines at a cost of Rs 1.86 crore and repaired 2,800 more at an expenditure of Rs 6.95 crore.
Work has also been undertaken to illuminate lanes and by-lanes in Uttaran areas through streetlights and mini-poles. Many settlements have seen kuchha passages converted to pucca roads, including paver-block and cement-concrete pathways. Community halls have been built wherever space is available. Primary schools function inside several of these settlements as well.
To ensure adequate drinking water, KMC has installed community tubewells and water taps. The sewerage and drainage networks have been upgraded, with kuchha surface drains replaced by underground pipelines. Samaddar said over 1,500 families have been given smokeless chullahs to replace polluting earthen ovens. “If a resident applies for a smokeless chullah through the councillor of his or her ward, we provide it,” he said.
While some residents initially feared that the renaming exercise could signal future eviction or redevelopment-driven displacement, KMC has clarified that it plans to bring these areas under the “thika” land category, which would act as a safeguard against takeover by private developers.
KMC officials say the Uttaran initiative is now moving into its next phase—widening access to services and stabilising infrastructure across all designated settlements. The renaming, carried out on the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in October 2023, also saw the KMC’s former Bustee Services department being rechristened as Uttaran Services.