With the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections due to be held this year, the civic body is planning to take up development and maintenance of roads in some portions of mouzas Mukundapur and Jagatipota, where though residents vote in KMC elections, their areas are yet to be brought under the civic body.

The KMC is slated to go for elections this year and the mayor Firhad Hakim is leaving no stones unturned to ensure all pending municipal works in the wards and boroughs of the KMC are completed before the elections, and by March 2020, when the financial year 2019-20 ends. The mayor has directed that all councillors oversee the ongoing and pending works and remain active in rendering municipal services to the citizens.

It is learnt from sources in the KMC that the civic body is now mulling over plans to take up development and repair works in parts of mouzas in Mukundapur and Jagatipota which are presently not under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. A KMC official confirmed that many a time, residents belonging to these areas, have complained of not getting civic services of the KMC while there is an imminent need for development of roads in the locality. Though the residents in these areas exercise their votes in the KMC elections, the areas concerned are yet to be brought under the civic body. It is further learnt that the proposal to include these parts of the mouzas in Mukundapur and Jagatipota is under consideration of the municipal corporation.

The proposal to extend the municipal services to these parts was discussed in a meeting chaired by the mayor, in November 2019. It was decided that roads that are in KMC’s record need to be developed, including all civic amenities, and should be maintained by the concerned department of KMC. Other roads /paths that are not yet in KMC’s records, will be developed by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).

Sources said the above proposal was placed before a mayor-in-council (MIC) meeting for consideration. It was on 13 December 2019 that the proposal was considered. It was decided that the development and maintenance of essential services such as development of roads, supply of potable water, sewerage and drainage system, street lighting arrangement and solid waste management, in the fringe areas of Joka and KMC, which are under South 24-Parganas, need to be extended.

It was learnt that residents in wards 112, 113, 114, 125, 126, 142 and 144 of the municipal corporation are suffering the worst. According to sources in ward 109, some people are residing beyond the ward boundary but they are voters of KMC. Considering this, it has been decided that minimum basic civic services be given to them pending regularisation/formalities.