Rehabilitation: Kolkata civic body plans 24 Banglar Bari with 384 dwelling units
In its effort to rehabilitate the slum dwellers at JK Ghosh Road, better known as Rasogolla Patty, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is planning to set up 24 Banglar Bari with 384 dwelling units. The civic body approved the project this week. According to the plan, the project aims to rehabilitate the poor at an earmarked site located at JK Ghosh Road slum area. Even as the idea was conceived earlier it could not be implemented. However, presently the civic body is looking to float tenders for the project.
The total number of 384 dwelling units under the Banglar Bari scheme will also accommodate people from other slums, according to KMC. The project will be executed in two parts — one for sub structure and the other concerns the superstructure. The work for the sub-structure part of the project was estimated at Rs 12.25 crore approximately while for the superstructure part it is Rs 27.64 crore approximately.
It was learnt that for the land development work, the civic body has already verified the status of the land on which the project is to be executed. On checking the land status, it was revealed that KMC is the occupier of the land concerned. However, as per information made available by KMC, the area though is marked as land as per a “CIT scheme plan”, a copy of a National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) map showed it was a water body. The matter was raised with the West Bengal Maritime Board (WBMB) by the Environment and Heritage department of KMC and it was concluded that it be considered as land based on inspection.
For KMC’s Slum Development department, Rs 232.69 crore have been allocated in the Budget for financial year 2024-25. The civic body plans to set up more Banglar Bari at 18 locations in the city in 2024-25 financial year. Some of these are at JK Ghosh Road, Judges Court Road, Canal East Road, Subodh Mullick Square, Upendra Chandra Banerjee Road, Thackeray Road etc.
Further, some of the Banglar Bari projects which are completed and under progress are at Upendra Banerjee Road, Mayer Bari, Canal South Road, Ultadanga Main Road and Brick Field Road.
