Making a statement on the Solobigha slum fire in the Assembly, state urban development minister Firhad Hakim on Monday said that the shanties had come up in a totally unplanned and chaotic manner and that is why frequent fire broke out there.
It was apparently the state government’s bid to shield Maheshtala municipality chairman Dulal Das who is the father-in-law of Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee. The fire victims have pointed fingers at Mr Das accusing him of masterminding the fire in order to evict them from the prized plot of land.
Mr Hakim told the House, “I visited the fire ravaged slum in Maheshtala. Most of its residents are very poor. The slum grew in an unplanned way. The land belongs to Kolkata Metropolitan Develo-pment Authority and ministry of railways.”
He said that rehabilitation would be provided to the victims who had lost their dwelling in the devastating fire in the wee hours of Saturday.
“The process has been started. I spoke to the district magistrate in this regard,” he added. Mr Hakim also hit out at the Opposition parties for playing dirty politics over the fire incident. “They are spreading canards,” he added.
On Monday, Mr Das who had been in the eye of the storm said he was ready to face a CID or even CBI inquiry.
He also alleged that the CPI(M) and Siddiqullah Chowdhury’s AIUDF had hatched a conspiracy to malign him.
“I challenge those who are trying to blame me for the fire to produce any evidence against me. I myself am demanding a thorough investigation into the entire incident. I am ready to face any probe: CID or CBI,” he added.
Dismissing all charges of corruption against him, Mr Das said he had been the chairman of the municipality for over three years and there was not a single person in Maheshtala who could accuse him of dishonesty. He even threatened to file defamation suit against those who had made allegations that he was involved in the arson which destroyed over 800 shanties in the sprawling slum. He again repeated his claim that with the help of the KMDA and under the JNNURM scheme, he was instrumental in the construction of 1,184 flats for the rehabilitation of the bona fide residents of the Solobigha slum. “People have started defaming me because I am not entertaining the claims of outsiders for these flats,” he alleged.
Mr Das explained that the cost of each flat was `5.5 lakh and every beneficiary would have to pay 10 per cent of the cost of the flat. “Each of them will have to pay `54,000 for obtaining a flat. This is as per the JNNURM rule,” he added.