Siliguri, February 17 (TSP Bangla) – The Trinamool Congress-run Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Monday unveiled a major infrastructure and beautification plan as part of its ₹647-crore budget for the 2026–27 financial year, with a strong focus on improving key roads in the run-up to the Assembly elections.
The budget was passed at the civic board meeting on Monday. Mayor Gautam Deb had earlier tabled the budget, amounting to around ₹647 crore, on February 13 for the next fiscal.
Councillors from the treasury benches as well as the Opposition including the BJP and the Left Front participated in the discussion before the budget was approved.
Mayor Deb said a key stretch of Hill Cart Road, from Hashmi Chowk to Mallaguri, would be developed into a “model road” in collaboration with the state Public Works Department (PWD). While the PWD will widen the busy arterial road to ease traffic congestion, the civic body will take up beautification work.
The stretch from Mainak, a property of the state tourism department, to Mallaguri will see improved illumination, installation of high mast lights and decorative upgrades along the central divider.
“The portion of Hill Cart Road from Hashmi Chowk to Mallaguri will be developed as a model road. We will jointly execute the project with the PWD, which will give a facelift to the road through widening. The civic body will carry out beautification work on one of its stretches,” Deb said.
Among other projects, the mayor announced the widening of Nivedita Road at an estimated cost of ₹2.18 crore. The civic body also plans to develop the Chhath Ghat and adjoining roads near the Mahananda river, with a proposed allocation of ₹10 crore.
In addition, the board approved a proposal to dedicate one of the stands at the Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das SMC Indoor Stadium in Deshbandhupara in memory of late table tennis coach Bharati Ghosh, a recipient of the state’s Bangaratna award.
The proposal was moved by Left councillor Saradindu Chakraborty.
“We are accepting the proposal of the Left councillor to dedicate one of the stands of the indoor stadium to the late Bharati Ghosh,” Deb said.
Mayor Gautam Deb also announced that a statue of Chittaranjan Das, popularly known as Deshbandhu, would be installed at the Tikiapara crossing. The intersection connects the DBRCD flyover with Deshbandhupara and the New Jalpaiguri railway station.
However, Opposition members criticised the budget. During the discussion, Amit Jain, BJP councillor and Leader of the Opposition in the SMC, said the budget lacked vision and failed to address key civic concerns.
“There is no vision in the budget, as it only reflected major projects for which the Centre has allocated funds to the SMC,” Jain said.
Chakraborty, a CPM councillor, spoke in a similar vein. “The commitments made by the mayor in the budget are far from reality. Also, there is no clear indication as to how funds would be arranged for these projects,” he said.
CPM home salve
The Darjeeling district committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) will construct seven houses for families who lost their homes in the devastating landslide that struck Mirik and Darjeeling on October 4 last year.
The initiative is aimed at supporting landslide-affected families in the hills, many of whom continue to struggle with housing insecurity months after the disaster.
Saman Pathak, the district CPM secretary, said the reconstruction will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, four houses will be built at the Thurbo tea estate in Mirik. The remaining three houses will be constructed in the second phase at other locations.
The CPM’s state committee has allocated ₹25 lakh to the Darjeeling district unit to implement the housing project.
