Check on mushrooming buildings

Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today asked Darjeeling district officials to put a check on the mushrooming of buildings and the rampant flouting of related laws in the hills.

The chief minister said this during a meeting at the circuit house here this evening. He asked the administration to take steps to prevent such construction that might lead to loss of life and property.

“The chief minister asked the district magistrate to meet and ask GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh to strictly follow the legislations related to town and country planning while sanctioning proposals for construction of buildings in the hills,” said urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, who was present at the meeting. “He has also expressed concern over the stopping of the 100-day-work scheme in the three hill subdivisions, instructing officials to expedite the process.” Ghisingh is the caretaker administrator of the DGHC.

Bhattacharya said the chief minister insisted on appointing professionals to run Himul, the state-owned milk cooperative union in the district, that has been struggling for some time. The chief minister has also promised a biomedical, a paramedical and a pharmaceutical college in and around Siliguri, he added.

CPM leaders of Darjeeling are eagerly awaiting the district secretariat meeting of the party to be attended by the chief minister tomorrow morning. The demand for DGHC elections and the problem of water scarcity in the hills are likely to top the agenda at the meeting, party sources said.

Source: The Telegraph