Beautification projects for Darjeeling awaiting state nod

SNS, Darjeeling, 26 November 2013: Many beautification projects long pending for Darjeeling seem to have finally started making rounds on the desk of the state government.

The chairman of Darjeeling Municipality, Mr Amar Singh Rai, has reached Kolkata carrying along lists of projects with him that is expected to further beautify the Queen of Hills if the state government gives a nod.

Mr Rai has been summoned for a meeting tomorrow with the senior officials of the ministry of state urban development at Writers Building, he informed The Statesman. “I hope for a positive response this time,” he said.

“I have brought with me around 20 projects for the beautification of Darjeeling. Few projects are new but others are the projects which have been pending for a while now,” Mr Rai said.

These projects accumulate to about Rs 100 crore, according to him.

“It will take time to get a green light for all the projects. However, it has become important for Darjeeling to have street lamps, a system for solid and liquid waste management, renovation of pay lavatories, fences at Sinchel lake and others.” Mr Rai said the Municipal officials had conducted a thorough survey before submitting the projects earlier, that is meant to beautify the famous tourist destination of the country.

Meanwhile, the Darjeeling Municipality has already sought a ‘go ahead’ to rehabilitate 182 hawkers that were removed earlier from Nehru road.

“The state government has agreed to sanction funds for the construction to rehabilitate the hawkers. We have identified the land and will submit the project tomorrow,” Mr Rai said. Some identified lands include CR Das road and meanwhile 51 concrete stalls has already been made ready for use but it has been learnt from the civic officials that the hawkers union has not yet responded to whom to accommodate in the new construction. One hundred and eighty two hawkers were earlier removed from Nehru road. Presently, the hawkers have stalled at Mall road and below Chowrasta.

n the other hand, speaking about the new projects on the cards, Mr Rai said: “Hills-based Muslim community submitted two projects to the Darjeeling municipality, one being a graveyard particularly for the community and other being the revamping of slum areas still in existence in the town.”

"I shall also have the project forwarded to the concerned department of the state government tomorrow," Mr Rai added.