RailEnquiry

KOLKATA: The stalemate over eviction and rehabilitation of Duttabad settlers has returned to haunt the East-West Metro corridor, thanks to the power struggle between two Trinamool leaders - Bidhannagar MLA Sujit Bose and Rajarhat MLA Sabyasachi Dutta. At a time when the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the executing agency, is quite desperate to gain momentum for the project, the urban development (UD) department officers and sub-divisional officer (SDO), along with KMRC engineers, had to return without carrying out a survey earlier this week.The survey was required to figure out the extent of eviction required and the rehabilitation. As many as 14 pillars were supposed to be built on this stretch to connect the yawning gap between Bengal Chemical and Bidyadhari School. The KMRC will take only that much land as is required for constructing these pillars. But Rajarhat MLA and Bidhannagar Municipality vice-chairman Sabyasachi Dutta reached the spot and allegedly stopped the survey with the help of "outsiders".

Dutta told TOI: "Ask the residents of Duttabad. They were not informed about the survey. I was not informed either. Why do I need to bring people from outside when Duttabad residents were badly affected by the projects? People of Duttabad must be told before any such survey. The Biadhannagar Municipality should also know." Dutta hinted that he would not let any eviction happen unless evictees are rehabilitated amicably.

The annoyance was unmistakable in Bose's voice. "I can vouch that no Duttabad resident protested that day. They have understood that they need to relocate themselves to facilitate the project. Moreover, the rehabilitation will happen only at Duttabad. So they have no problem with the project and survey."

Without naming Dutta, Bose said: "But some people have a problem with the projects, only to serve their petty political interests. I have striven hard for this project that will change the face of this part of the city. Those who are creating trouble won't be forgiven by the people of Bengal."

Earlier, urban development minister Firhad Hakim had decided to allocate land for rehabilitating Duttabad residents. He had even urged local MLAs Sujit Bose and Paresh Pal to persuade the settlers to accept the package offered.

"The 365m trajectory is home to 150 families. Duttabad became such a stumbling block for the project that KMRC had even thought of opting for the cantilever technology to reduce the number of pillars at an extra cost of Rs 40 crore. But the technical evaluation ruled out the feasibility of the use of this technology. We are still trying to be least invasive at Duttabad. We will only acquire land that is absolutely necessary for the project. Our engineers have identified 58 such families for eviction and rehabilitation. This why the survey was required," explained a senior KMRC officer.

The Rs 5,000-crore project, linking a 14.58-km corridor between Howrah Maidan in the West and the IT city Salt Lake in the East, has already suffered time and cost overrun. The railways is now the major stakeholder of the project. The elevated stretch will have six stations between Sector V and Salt Lake stadium. The rest of it - an underground stretch of 8.9 km - will link Salt Lake stadium with Howrah Maidan. The tunnel will travel below the Hooghly riverbed.