With emphasis on women-centric projects, the city’s slum areas are slated for an infrastructural development in the next fiscal. The bustee department of Kolkata Municipal Corporation is headed for enhanced infrastructure facilities with a fund allocation of Rs 249 crore for the next financial year.

Last year, the department received an estimated budget of Rs 232 crore, which was later revised to Rs 202 crore. For the next financial calendar, the department has been allocated funds of Rs 249.09 crore. According to the budget data, the department has undertaken projects of toilet complex and baby care centres for women under the ‘Kolkata 10 Diganta’ and ‘Pathakhanika.’ The department has so far constructed two Pathakhanika, one each in ward 51 and 110 of the KMC while work is being carried out at five other places in the city. The bustee department has identified land for five more women’s toilet complex-cum-baby-care centres in parts of central Kolkata. According to the member-mayor-in-council of the department, Swapan Samaddar, a detailed project report of the identified spaces under phase-II of the project is being prepared.

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“There are numerous women who come to Kolkata everyday while many others from the city go out to work. Considering the fact, we are identifying land for setting up women’s toilet complex-cum-baby care centres at places close to railway stations and other busy places,” said Mr Samaddar. “We have also sent letters to the councillors of all the 144 wards to help the department in identifying land in their areas and inform us about it,” he added.

Another thrust area of the department is setting up and revamping of toilets and urinals where intensive works are being done. As learnt, in the ongoing financial year, a total 173 sanitary toilets at the cost of Rs 1.56 crore while another 2641 toilets are said to have been repaired and renovated by spending Rs 6.60 crore. In addition, 320 pay-and-use toilets have been revamped through funds from SUDA while another 107 have been renovated under the Mission Nirmal Bangla Scheme. The bustee department is said to have sent DPR for construction works of 100 more urinals to SUDA.