SWACHH BHARAT, MADE IN BANGLA
The Mamata Banerjee government has opted out of Swachh Survekshan Mission (SSM) 2019, a survey under the PM’s pet Swachh Bharat Mission that will rank 500 cities on cleanliness and sanitation.
Mamata, who’s never hidden her loathing for Delhi, says the condition that user charges be levied on drinking water and other civic utilities in 60 West Bengal cities and towns selected for the SSM survey (to reduce financial burden of the scheme on the Centre), is unacceptable.
State officials say she is against burdening the poor and middle class with additional taxes. A senior urban development officer here says the TMC government had earlier refused to repeal the West Bengal Urban Land Ceiling Act because it “does not endorse extra civic taxation”. Although officials are wary of publicly acknowledging any tussle between Mamata and Narendra Modi, the ‘bad blood’, particularly in the wake of demonetisation, is evident.
On the premise that the Centre gives only 33 per cent of funds for the solid waste management component of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the CM has ordered that the scheme be rechristened. It’ll now be called Nirmal Bangla Mission. Whatever the name, the project is working. One officer claims five districts are already open defecation-free (ODF). “We are committed to making the entire state ODF by 2018, whereas Swachh Bharat Mission is looking at 2019 as a deadline,” he said. Interestingly, the Mamata government requisitions central monies under the Swachh Bharat Mission, but is, without Delhi’s concurrence, rolling out the scheme in the districts with the alternative name.
The state has also stayed out of Modi’s flagship 100 smart cities project. This despite four Bengal cities making it to the list. State urban
development minister Firhad Hakim says the project will be a financial burden. Under the Smart Cities Mission, states must contribute Rs 1,000 crore upfront, half of which would be reimbursed over five years. He added that smart cities would mean higher user charges on residents—a no-no for the CM. Instead, she kicked off the Green Smart City project for developing 125 municipalities as eco-friendly, smart centres.
Not being a part of Modi’s grand plans is part of Mamata’s strategy. Political scientist Biswanath Chakrabarty says besides projecting herself as a leader who is against taxing citizens, Mamata gets an opportunity to project herself as different from the BJP.