Generated Title: Kolkata's Infrastructure Paradox: Billions Spent, But Will It Float?

Kolkata is throwing money at its problems—specifically, waterlogging and transportation. We're talking hundreds of crores (a crore is ten million rupees). The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is planning 21 new lifting stations and a major sewer overhaul. Simultaneously, car sales are booming, thanks to a GST cut. But is this progress, or just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic?

The Floodgates Are Open (For Spending)

The KMC’s Rs 207 crore (that's roughly $25 million USD) sewerage and drainage development plan is ambitious, to say the least. They're aiming to shield lakhs of residents from waterlogging by building these lifting stations along the Hooghly and Adi Ganga rivers. The plan includes refurbishing the 148-year-old underground sewer line from Moulali to Palmer Bridge. This "Town outfall sewer line," dating back to 1876, is apparently the third oldest brick sewer in the world. You have to wonder if they're preserving history or just kicking the can down the road. According to KMC to set up 21 lifting stations for tide relief, the KMC is hoping these stations will provide tide relief.

According to the KMC, this refurbishment—a Rs 175 crore project—will save over 10 lakh people across 30 wards from flooding. They're also upgrading the Palmer Bridge drainage pumping station with two major sumps and eight high-power pumps. A new drainage pumping station at Hrishikesh Park is also in the works. All this sounds impressive, but what's the actual projected impact on water levels and drainage speed? The press releases are heavy on "lakhs of residents saved" but light on concrete metrics. I've looked at similar projects, and the devil is always in the details of the cost-benefit analysis—details conveniently absent here. What are the projected maintenance costs, and how will they be funded long-term?

The Car Market's High Tide

Meanwhile, the city's automobile market is experiencing a surge. Car sales jumped by 37.8% in October 2025 after a Goods and Services Tax (GST) cut on vehicles took effect on Sept 22. Registrations rose from 8,485 in August to 11,698 in October. One RTO, Behala, saw registrations more than double. Dealers are reporting price reductions of up to Rs 1 lakh on mass-market vehicles and up to Rs 30 lakh on luxury models. The combined October sales of eight major brands rose by 43%. Car sales zoom in Kolkata as GST rate cut drives down prices, according to reports.

Industry insiders are attributing this boom to the GST cut, festive-season demand, and the heavy rain on Sept 23, which damaged hundreds of vehicles. (A grim, if lucrative, combination). Subhendu Mondal, president of the Automobile Welfare Association, claims the price revision "lured even those who did not have any immediate requirement of a car." This creates a classic supply and demand issue. More cars mean more traffic, which, in turn, exacerbates drainage problems during heavy rains. The city's infrastructure is already struggling; can it handle a 37.8% increase in vehicles without a corresponding investment in road capacity and parking? And what about the environmental impact of this surge in car ownership? Has anyone calculated the increased emissions?

A Methodological Critique

Here's where my skepticism kicks in. The data on both fronts—the infrastructure projects and the car sales—feels incomplete. The KMC's press releases tout the benefits of the drainage projects, but they lack granular data on projected water flow rates, pump capacities, and the actual impact on specific neighborhoods. Similarly, the car sales figures are impressive, but they don't account for the long-term consequences on traffic congestion and air quality. Are these figures adjusted for seasonality, or is this simply a post-monsoon bounce? The article mentions that some manufacturers pre-announced lower prices before the GST cut, triggering a 15-20% rise in sales in Sept. So, is the October surge just a delayed reaction?

It's like trying to understand a company's earnings report without looking at the balance sheet. You get a snapshot of revenue, but you miss the underlying debt and liabilities. Kolkata's infrastructure spending and car sales boom are two sides of the same coin—one aimed at solving a problem, the other potentially making it worse. The question is whether the city's long-term planning is keeping pace with its short-term economic incentives. Are they building a sustainable future, or just paving the way for more gridlock and flooding? And this is the part of the report that I find genuinely puzzling.

Is Kolkata Drowning in Irony?

Kolkata seems to be caught in an infrastructure paradox. It's investing in flood control while simultaneously incentivizing car ownership, which could worsen the very problems it's trying to solve. The city's leaders need to consider the long-term consequences of their policies and prioritize sustainable solutions over short-term economic gains. Otherwise, all that money spent on lifting stations and sewer upgrades will be like trying to bail out a sinking ship with a teaspoon.