Time for Darjeeling face-lift

DARJEELING, Nov. 25: The Darjeeling Municipality will set up a Town Planning Committee to give a face-lift to the town considering its growing population.
“A 10-member cell will be formed headed by the civic body chairman to look into all aspects of town planning. It will also have the DM and the SP in the advisory body,” informed the chairman, Mr Pemba Tshering Ola. Most of the civic services like sewage, water distribution system and land use of Darjeeling fail to meet the requirements of the 1.5 lakh odd population in town that excludes the floating population.

Moreover, in the past 20 years the landscape has become congested in the absence of any regulation to check construction.

The civic body has already begun the dismantling of illegal buildings flouting the permissible limit of 13.5 m in height.

The committee, likely to be formed in January next year, will work envisioning the town's population 30 to 40 years ahead. Apart from the administrative heads, the municipality will collaborate with local engineers, architects, experts and the people in general. “We have already written to the Ahmedabad School of Structures to help us in the matter. A team that specialises in hill town planning will probably be sent to Darjeeling,” Mr Ola said.

The civic body will dismantle 30 to 35 old buildings under its purview to construct modern multi-purpose buildings that will also have parking spaces and water harvesting system targeted at solving the traffic problem and water crisis in town.
“Traffic space is limited and with unauthorised shops that encroach on the roads chances of accidents go up. We will also rehabilitate the hawkers in these new buildings,” he said.

A different cell will look into the uneven water distribution in the 32 wards of Darjeeling Municipality. “The current system dates back over 50 years and is good for supplying up to 50,000 people,” the chairman said. At present, the civic body supplies 7-8 lakh gallons of water against a total requirement of 17-18 gallons per day.