At the monthly board meeting of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Tuesday, senior Trinamool councillor Ranjan Silsharma openly sparred with Mayor Gautam Deb, a senior party leader and chairman of the Trinamool-run board of north Bengal’s largest municipal corporation, over illegal constructions in the city.
“As mayor, you had promised that there will be no illegal building in Siliguri. But you did not fulfil that promise. Small houses and shops of the people with low-income were demolished immediately, while illegal buildings of rich people were not even touched. This is unfair and shows double standards,” Silsharma said at the meeting.
“The mayor is quick to take action against the people with low-income, but remains silent when rich people break the law. This is wrong. The duty of the mayor is to protect everyone equally, and not to favour the powerful.” Deb reacted to these comments by a councillor from his own party.
Deb claimed that the SMC has demolished several illegal buildings without any economic discrimination.
“We are taking all necessary steps and making every effort to end this practice. I have given a detailed statement on the issue,” Deb said.
However, the debate between the two Trinamool leaders turned into a heated argument.
“We are gathering information about more such buildings and further action will be taken,” the mayor said.
SMC sources said the dispute started over an illegal building in the Siliguri Junction area, following which a heated argument broke out between the mayor and the councillor.
The heated exchange between Silsharma and Deb has triggered a sharp reaction within the Trinamool as it comes almost a month after another similar unpleasant incident at the last SMC board meeting.
At that time, Mayor-in-Council member and Trinamool councillor of Ward 46 Dilip Barman had criticised the mayor and deputy mayor Ranjan Sarkar for not stopping the demolition drive of illegal buildings in his area.
The matter got so heated that Barman was asked to leave the meeting and he left.
On Tuesday, Barman, who was later issued a show-cause notice by the Trinamool Congress, was absent from the meeting.
BJP councillor and leader of opposition in the SMC Amit Jain also raised the issue of encroachment on corporation land. He, along with Left councillors, complained about the broken roads in the city and demanded their immediate repair before Durga Puja.
Senior Left councillor Munshi Nurul Islam said a health centre built in his ward never opened and has become a den for people with a (drug, alcohol, …) addiction He demanded deployment of police in the area.
The mayor replied that a building has been made available for the police, but no police force has been deployed there.
He said he would write to senior police officials on the issue.
Later, speaking to reporters, Deb said all SMC lands were being checked and a land bank would be created to prevent encroachment.
“He (Silsharma) is our party member as well as a councillor and he tried to put forth his point. We did not stop him. We are actively working on the issue and will not allow illegal buildings to come up in the city. Also, we are taking steps to ensure that not even an inch of municipal land goes into private hands,” he said.
