KMC to start restoration work of Bikramgarh Jheel from Jan

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is all set to take up full scale rejuvenation work of the Bikramgarh Jheel in South Kolkata from January.

During the monthly meeting on Friday, a councillor of the Golf Green area raised questions about the present status of the pond which over the years had fallen victim to encroachment. He sought to know when will KMC begin restoration work and the fund utilisation so far for the work.

Member Mayor In Council (MMIC) of the Environment department, Swapan Samaddar informed the House that presently the pond measures 29840 sqm with 1789 m circumference. Samaddar confirmed that the first installment of funds of Rs 1.5 crore have already reached the civic body for the restoration work. This was made possible by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

An amount of Rs 1.35 crore has already been spent on various works, including bullah piling. It was learnt that the project will cost about Rs 8 crore.

The fund for the work that is to start from January will be coming from the AMRUT scheme. This will be around Rs 3.5 crores.

Further, answering the question as to whether the KMC has been able to reclaim the encroached portions of the waterbody, Samaddar said the civic body has recovered a large part under the West Bengal Inland Fisheries Act.

The waterbody spread across three to four acres was encroached to a large extent over the years. Several vehicle repairing garages had come up on the spot. A group of citizens had appealed to the chief minister to save the waterbody before it completely disappeared.

The KMC had earlier got the lake surveyed by the experts of Jadavpur University who suggested dredging without which it will be impossible to take up restoration work due to deposition of heavy amounts of silt. Asked about measures being taken to prevent dumping of waste there, Samaddar said the solid waste management department can levy hefty fines in such cases.