KOLKATA: Amitabh Bachchan may have appealed for a 'dry Holi' to save water in drought-hit Maharashtra, but Kolkata's civic body is all geared up to set an example of a different kind. With summer setting in - and with that the dread of water scarcity in several areas - the civic authorities plan to spend 100 tanks of water every day to maintain the plants on median verges.

The decision will not only adversely affect residents across large parts of south Kolkata, it will also bleed the already-cash-strapped civic coffers even further. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has already spent around Rs 20 crore on beautification of road dividers. Now, according to a moderate estimate, the KMC needs to spend Rs 1.75 crore a year on watering the flower beds. The decision was taken after it was noticed that the plants on median verges were in a wretched condition for want of proper watering and monitoring.

The decision, however, has sparked furore among civic officials. Some in the KMC water supply department felt it would be an uphill task for them to supply so much water in the peak of summer. "The civil engineering department needs a huge amount of water for the next eight months to water plants along median verges or boulevards. We can't supply so much water when summer is at its peak," a senior KMC official said.

The civil engineering department had requested the KMC parks department to take up the responsibility of watering the plants, but the latter refused citing of lack of infrastructure and funds. It was then decided that contractors would be roped in for the job.

"We have decided to hand over the job of watering to contractors. The number of water tanks needed daily for this is yet to be ascertained. But we won't need more than 25," said P K Dua, the chief engineer of the KMC civil engineering department. However, Debasish Chakraborty, officer on special duty (parks), said at least 100 water tanks would be required daily for the job and the charge would come to Rs 1.75 crore annually. According to a parks department official, shrubs like Togor, Kamini, Allamanda and herbs (hedges) like Duranta need constant watering during summer. "In some places, these herbs and shrubs have dried up for want of watering," the KMC official said.

Opposition leader Rupa Bagchi came down heavily on the civic top brass for wasting money on mindless beautification. "They are wasting water when a crisis has started. This must stop," Bagchi said.

The beautification drive began a year ago along Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Chittaranjan Avenue. After completing these two thoroughfares, the KMC civil engineering department took up similar projects across Camac Street, Loudon Street, AJC Bose Road, Sarat Bose Road, Asutosh Mukherjee Road and Rashbehari Avenue.

KMC is spending Rs 90 lakh on building every kilometre of these dividers, which is much higher than the money spent in other metros for the same purpose. Information available with TOI says that in Mumbai, the cost of building a 1-km concrete divider (3-4 feet wide) with a flower bed costs around Rs 40 lakh. In Chennai, an even wider divider costs around Rs 59 lakh.

Apart from the cost, Kolkata's concrete dividers are eating into the city's already shrinking road space. Above all, the question remains whether beautification should precede development projects like water supply and sewerage, which are badly in need of funds. The money for the median project seems to have come from the Rs 340 crore mopped up from last year's property tax waiver scheme, which itself was controversial and questioned by Governor M K Narayanan.