State to seek Calcutta HC approval to remove defunct tram lines, says Mayor

Kolkata: With defunct tram lines in the city’s narrow roads allegedly paving the way for road accidents, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Firhad Hakim said he will discuss the matter with the state Transport department and request the Calcutta High Court for permission to remove these lines.

During the civic body’s House meeting on Saturday, councillor Minakshi Ganguly brought to the attention of the Mayor that in North Kolkata, a tram line which starts at Belgachia, passing through RG Kar Road and Shyambazar, leading up to Maniktala, is lying defunct for years. She stated that in this route even the overhead electrical wire is also absent, thus ruling out the possibility of resumption of tram services on this stretch.

The councillor said since the defunct tram line occupies an adequate portion of the RG Kar Road and APC Road, the civic body is not able to carry out any road extension work there to reduce the number of accidents.

“The number of accidents relating to two-wheelers and pedestrians call for such an extension work,” she remarked. Further, it was proposed that once the tram line is removed, it will be easier for KMC to carry out cleaning work of gully pits, water and drainage pipelines in the area.

Commenting on the issue, Hakim said he recently held talks with the state Transport department since the latter had sought suggestions. He said: “There are four routes now where trams are plying. The rest of the routes have been shut since the time of the Left Front government. Since a case is pending relating to the matter in Calcutta High Court, we have asked the Transport department to seek permission from the court if the defunct lines on narrow roads could be removed so that KMC can widen the roads there to reduce accidents.”

Further, the Mayor said in a bid to conserve heritage, the trams can continue to run in the four functional routes. “When trams came into being, there was no Metro. Nowadays, people want a faster mode of transport and it is evident from the scant number of passengers who still avail trams. For greener transport, the state government wants to introduce electric buses.

An MoU was already signed for 1280 e-buses but the project is stuck due to a case in the Supreme Court.”

In April 2023, the state Transport department had submitted an affidavit in the Calcutta High Court informing that currently, three tram routes in the city continue to be operational. They are — Shyambazar-Esplanade, Gariahat-Esplanade and Ballygunge-Tollygunge. The department is learnt to have also informed the court that it intends to revive the seven more tram routes in the city by 2025. These are: Kidderpore-Esplanade, Bidhannagar-BBD Bag, Shyambazar-BBD Bag, Bidhannagar-Esplanade, Ballygunge-Esplanade, Tollygunge-Esplanade and Bidhannagar-Howrah Bridge.

An advisory committee has already been formed under the direction of the Calcutta High Court to suggest a way to preserve trams in Kolkata. The committee includes state Transport department officials, members of the Calcutta Tram Users Association, a group of tram lovers, a green activist, a member of the state heritage commission and a former Director General of the Town Planning department of the KMC.