The state's total dues from the centre have accumulated to one lakh ninety-seven thousand crore rupees. In this situation of massive arrears, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is unable to construct new community halls. Mayor Firhad Hakim conveyed this in response to a proposal by Trinamool councillor Bishwarup De from Ward No. 48 during the municipal monthly session. According to municipal sources, no new community halls have been constructed in Kolkata since 2022.
The mayor stated, "Building and maintaining a community hall requires substantial expenditure. The state's dues from the centre have touched one lakh ninety-seven thousand crore rupees. Allocating funds for community hall construction has become difficult for the municipality."
At one time, the municipality had set a target to build one community hall in each of Kolkata's 144 wards. The mayor assured, "Efforts will be made to build community halls again."
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Currently, there are 80 community halls under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The minimum rent is 10 thousand rupees. However, with air-conditioning facilities, the rent becomes 15 thousand rupees in some places and 20 thousand rupees in others. The amount also varies based on the community hall's location and how many floors are rented. There are discount opportunities for financially disadvantaged families. The discount amount depends on the municipal authorities' decision.
Online booking for community halls has been operational since 2017. According to municipal sources, community halls were under the then-deputy mayor's control in 2017. Later, controversy arose over renting a community hall in South Kolkata. Subsequently, the responsibility of community halls was given to a mayor-in-council. The responsibility of community halls remains with the mayor-in-council.
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Many councillors from the ruling party are also facing problems, as not a single new community hall has been built in Kolkata in the past three years. They have grievances about this. Multiple ruling party councillors, unwilling to be named, allege that unless a councillor holds an official position or is influential, their ward doesn't get a community hall! Trinamool councillor Bishwarup De from Ward No. 48 proposed constructing a community hall in his ward during the municipal session.
He stated that there are at least 50 slums in Ward No. 48 in Bowbazar, Central Kolkata. A community hall should be built on the club's land there. If this community hall is constructed, the poor people of the slums will benefit. Bishwarup also demanded that the municipality allocate funds for this in the next financial year. However, the mayor could not provide much assurance to him.
