Newly appointed GDD Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, on Thursday, took part in an official meeting with the GMDA officials for the first time after taking charge of his office.
The minister expressed his concerns regarding several issues in the city and also expressed his disappointment about the projects which have not been completed since a long time.
He asked the GMDA officials to take strict measures against all resident owners who have built buildings and apartments without structural permission from the GMDA. He also asked the department to send notice to all such resident owners notifying them about the same.
Reportedly, several officials and engineers of the GMDA failed to state project plans when asked, which greatly irked the minister. Bhattacharya also questioned CEO of GMDA, Dr M Angamuthu on the negligence.
The GDD minister also expressed his dissatisfaction regarding the cleanliness of drainage project undertaken by the GMC. "4 people cannot clean the drainage system with spades in hands. If we need to clean Guwahati's drains, we need to move out of these traditional methods and adopt proper scientific methods," the minister added. Speaking about the drainage system, Siddhartha Bhattacharya said that proper drainage methodology will soon be adopted to allow drain water from areas like Noonmati, Nabin Nagar, Anil Nagar, Hatigaon to flow directly into the Brahmaputra river.
Guwahati's unplanned parking system has always been a major concern for the people of the city. The minister while discussing the issues also raised the concern that unplanned parking is still prevalent on RGB Road, while on the other hand the multi level parking in front of Shraddhanjali Kanan remains empty most of the time. He ordered the officials of GMDA to soon announce 'No Parking' zones to allow smooth traffic in the area.
Senior officials from GMDA, and Water Board were also present during the meeting.
