Kolkata: In wake of complaints regarding filling up of water bodies, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Firhad Hakim said that the civic body has written to police to keep an eye on trucks bringing construction materials to the city.
The Mayor told the media that KMC has been able to check the filling up of water bodies to a large extent. He said that KMC is taking action when complaints are lodged under the Fisheries Act. However, he said that to deal with the problem at the initial stage, police have been asked to remain alert. The officers in-charge (OCs) are to ensure they don’t turn a blind eye towards trucks entering the city with construction materials.
He said complaints will be lodged against OCs if found they are not doing their duty for the same.
The Mayor said KMC has already made the rule that only the Solid Waste Management department will be able to collect construction waste to ensure such is not dumped in any nearby ponds. He said that in case such waste is not being handed over to KMC, then appropriate action will be taken.
In a Millennium Post article published on February 25, it was reported that for conservation in the wake of rapid urbanisation in the city, KMC geo-tagged more than 8,000 water bodies using satellite surveys coupled with ground verification. Total water area of 17130045 sqm was geo-tagged. This was also done to upgrade the civic body’s inventory of water bodies which includes un-mapped water bodies of wards 142, 143 and 144 (added areas).
The civic body has filed as many as 870 police complaints against illegal filling up of water bodies so far under West Bengal Inland Fisheries Act, 1984 and West Bengal Town and Country (Planning & Development) Act, 1979.