Two years on, new fire stations still not in sight

The mega plan to set up 10 more fire stations in the city remains a design even after two years since it was envisaged. An indecisive Centre and lethargic local authorities have compelled the city suffer.

While the Central Government is not coming clear on the amount of funds it will give for the Rs 118-crore plan of the AMC, the civic body itself is yet to finalise the plots that can be used for setting up the new stations.

The plans, which were made during the fag end of the term of the then municipal commissioner Anil Mukim, include providing essential equipment to improve the existing fire services, besides setting up of new stations.

The plan was drawn when the AMC was full with octroi income and was confident of meeting the expenditure on its own. But the withdrawal of octroi duty, and stepping in of the National Disaster Management Authority and the Directorate General of Civil Defence in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the plan, have compelled the AMC to depend on funds from the Ministry of Finance.

This, said an official in the fire brigade, comes to just around Rs 8 crore for all seven municipal corporations of the state. Of this, how much can be allocated to the AMC can be left to the imagination of those watching the situation for quite some time, the official added.

Municipal commissioner I P Gautam admitted that there was a delay in arrival of funds from the Centre. “However, these are procedural things and we have no way but to wait till they materialise,” he said.

The need for at least six more fire stations in the city was realised when the census of 2001 revealed the city's population to be nearly five million. For every one lakh population, four fire tankers and one fire tender are required.

... contd.