Kolkata: Firhad Hakim on Thursday attended his first monthly meeting as Mayor and replied to queries from councilors, including issues like groundwater depletion in the city.
"It will be a part of my programme as the Mayor of Kolkata to stop extraction of groundwater totally in the city. I have already held a meeting with the state Water Resources Investigation department and we will be coming out with a scientific action plan," Hakim said, responding to a proposal from Left councillor Chayan Bhattacharjee, who urged the Mayor to take suitable steps to prevent depletion of groundwater level.
Bhattacharjee had pointed out that wards 111 to 114 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) covering parts of Garia are still dependent on big diameter tubewells, as potable drinking water has not been able to reach all the households in these wards.
Hakim admitted that the KMC has not been able to ensure the supply of potable drinking water to every household and said that the Water Supply department of the civic body is augmenting the capacity of Garden Reach Waterworks by another 25 million gallon (MG) and also coming up with a mini pumping station at Kamdahari area, with a capacity of 3.2 MG to address the problem.
"We are not getting funds from the centre under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, but the state will be funding these projects. The DPR is being readied for the Kamdahari pumping station and we will be soon sending it to the state government for funds," Hakim said, adding that the state government has already allocated Rs 89.75 crore for augmentation of Garden Reach Water Works.
The KMC is also planning to come up with a small booster pumping station at Babubagan in Jodhpur Park area. The construction work for the station was supposed to start much earlier, but the Puja committee of Babubgan had urged KMC to shift it to another nearby location. However, KMC could not identify any other area nearby that would solve the purpose of the pumping station. "I will hold a meeting with the Puja committee next week and the pumping station will come up in Babubgan itself. Work will start by this month-end and it will take two years for completion," the Mayor said.
Earlier in the day, Hakim took oath as the councillor in presence of KMC chairperson Mala Roy.