Alipurduar, Nov. 5 -- As many as 15 councillors from the Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTC) have levelled allegations of widespread corruption in Jalpaiguri Municipality, raising questions over recruitment, development projects and utilisation of funds. The AMRUT drinking water project has emerged as the biggest point of concern, with allegations that households are yet to receive the promised supply.
Ward 15 councillor and Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTC) leader Tapan Bandyopadhyay alleged irregularities in recruitment and lack of transparency in project expenditure. "Several projects, including AMRUT, remain incomplete. Funds have also been received under 'Amader Para, Amader Samadhan', but there is no clarity on how the money was spent or who executed the work. No audit has been conducted. We demand a proper investigation," he said.
BJP district spokesperson Jibesh Das alleged serious irregularities in AMRUT. He claimed that despite an allocation of Rs 150 crore, purified drinking water had not reached households. "Pipelines are leaking and bleaching powder is being used to remove the foul smell from the water. An investigation is needed to establish where the central funds have gone," he said.
However, former municipality chairman Saikat Chatterjee dismissed the allegations as baseless. He said: "I resigned on August 27. Till then, 16,400 people had received water supply under the project, and the water was absolutely clear. Why have the remaining areas not received connections in the last three months?"
On recruitment allegations, Chatterjee claimed that the ED and CBI had investigated the process during his tenure and no staff recruitment had taken place under his chairmanship. He said nearly 70 per cent of permanent employees had retired.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.