Kolkata West International City | |
|---|---|
 Kolkata West International gateway | |
 | |
| Area | |
| • Total | 153 ha (378 acres) |
| Population | |
| • Total | ~30,000[1] |
| Website | https://kolkatawest.in/ |
Kolkata West International City is a satellite township development of Kolkata, located at Salap[2] in Howrah district. The project is under construction in the form of a joint-venture between KMDA and Singapore-based congomolarate[3] Universal Success Group.[4]
The project was one of the largest foreign direct investments in township projects in India[5] and the first in West Bengal.[6] The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority acquired a 390-acre plot beside the Kona Expressway at Salap[7] and handed it over to the consortium along with sub-leasing rights.[8] It was unveiled by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, on 15 February 2006 and was expected to comprise about 11,000 apartments (flats/villas) to house nearly 36,000 people.[4]
The first phase of the project was to span across 82 acres with the flats being priced between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 80 lakh.[8] There were further plans to set up dedicated power stations, sports facilities, IT parks, entertainment zones, hospitals and schools.[4] The first 450 units were to be sold over by December 2007 and the entire project, comprising five phases,[9] was expected to be completed and delivered by 2010.[4]
An elite population of the city had initially demanded that the word ‘Kolkata’ be dropped from the name, as misleading.[10] There was a barrage of criticism over Howrah Municipal Corporation agreeing to supply 2 million gallons of water per day to the project, amidst its general inability to sustain a proper water-supply to residential areas.[11]
The developers have missed numerous deadlines since 2008; 2013 not even half of the first phase work was completed.[3][8] Salim Group and Ciputra Development went away soon after missing the first deadline.[12]
The buyers have since formed an association -- Kolkata West Buyers' Welfare Association - to lodge protests against the supposed scam. A few flats were eventually provided with completion certificates from 2011 and onwards[9][13] but were allegedly far from complete and constructed in a sub-optimal fashion.[8] Multiple protests have been held since 2011.[3][9][13][14][15][16] In July 2011, Abhay Mohan Jha of HIMAL Southasian, made a visit to the proposed township and found it to be a desolated and uninhabited place, that resembled more of a cemetery. After being disallowed by the guards to enter the property, he visited the project-office in Chowringhee to find about 200 investors in a dharna, who despite having paid in full, were unable to move in, due to lack of any minimal infrastructure.[6] Work progressed at a very slow pace and whilst more houses were eventually constructed, most of them had no connecting road or other basic facilities.[17] The Association also protested by writing to West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, but to no avail.[18][19]
Universal Success Group has since blamed it on the delayed processing of "certain" approvals from various regulatory bodies like KMDA et al.[9] KMDA though refuted the allegations and mentioned of the group being non-transparent when queried by them, about the reasons behind such extraordinary delays.[9]
The Association has also filed a case against Kolkata West with the Competition Commission of India.[20]