TMC protest over market complex decision

TT, Siliguri, Feb. 2: Trinamul councillors organised a day-long hunger strike on the Siliguri Municipal Corporation building premises today to protest against mayor Asok Bhattacharya's decision to develop an under-construction building owned by the civic body to a commercial complex.

Although the building near Sevoke Road here, whose construction started around 10 years ago, was meant to be a market complex, the previous civic board led by the Congress had decided to convert it to a hospital.

Today, 15 of the 17 Trinamul councillors started the hunger strike around 10 am.

"The under construction building is located on a by-lane off Sevoke Road on a two acre plot and the Congress-led civic board had decided to make it a hospital. Representatives of a Durgapur-based private healthcare group had visited the area about four years ago and agreed to start the project. Had the hospital started functioning, residents of the added wards of the SMC and the outskirts of Siliguri would have been benefited," Nantu Pal, leader of opposition at the SMC, said.

"Despite of our repeated appeals, the mayor decided to erect a commercial complex instead of a hospital, which we condemn. As a mark of protest, we have organised a day-long hunger strike," he added.

Pal said Trinamul will launch a movement if the mayor went ahead with his decision.

The protest continued till around 6pm today.

Sources said the total area of the six-storey building is 34,000sqft. It is 4km away from the SMC building.

When the Congress board was at the helm of affairs, it had been decided that after completion of the hospital, the private healthcare company would pay the civic body Rs 2.46 crore as rent every year.

After the Left Front board was formed in 2011, the members said if the building was used for commercial purposes, instead of a hospital, it would generate more income.

Mayor Asok Bhattacharya said the project was taken up under the Integrated Development of Small and Medium Town scheme when he was the state minister for municipal affairs and urban development. "It was during my tenure when a decision was taken that the building would be constructed for a commercial complex. But the previous civic board tried to build a hospital in association with a private health firm. We cannot allow such proposals to develop, as any project under a central government scheme cannot be converted to a different project," Bhattacharya told reporters here this afternoon.

"As far as our knowledge is concerned, the private company did not say that it would provide free treatment or any facility to the underprivileged. We have to generate more income from our own sources and keeping that in mind, we have decided to utilise the building. It would be given to private entrepreneurs. Whether it would be given out on rent or lease, we will decide later," he added.