Bidhan Market gets High Court clearance for Joka Metro work within seven days, with temporary relocation, rehabilitation assurance, utilities and security for shopkeepers.
Qalam Times News Network
Kolkata, August 24, 2026
KOLKATA: Bidhan Market in Dharmatala has received the green light for the commencement of work related to the Joka–Esplanade (Joka–BBD Bagh) Metro project, with the Calcutta High Court directing the authorities to begin the work within seven days. The court, however, has made it clear that the interests of the market’s shopkeepers must be protected during the process.
The Bidhan Market issue came before a bench headed by Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, which on Monday permitted the temporary relocation of traders to facilitate the Metro construction. The court directed the agency responsible for executing the project to provide the shopkeepers with a written assurance that they would be allowed to return to their original locations once the Metro-related work in the area is completed.
Bidhan Market Shopkeepers Must Get Basic Facilities and Security
According to the court’s directions, the traders cannot be shifted until adequate arrangements have been made at the proposed temporary relocation site. The authorities have been asked to ensure essential facilities, including water and electricity, along with proper security and other minimum amenities.
The court’s order comes amid concerns raised by traders over their proposed eviction from the market area. The authorities had earlier indicated that the shopkeepers could be moved from the market as early as Wednesday. The proposed temporary relocation site is the Mounted Police Paddock area.
The shopkeepers had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking protection against being displaced without a formal commitment regarding their future rehabilitation. They argued that the market has a long history and plays an important role as a wholesale trading centre in central Kolkata.
The traders told the court that the market was established in 1954 on land belonging to the Defence Ministry. Their principal concern was that construction agencies and other authorities were seeking to move them without giving them a written undertaking that they would eventually be restored to their original premises.
Representing the shopkeepers, advocates Firdous Shamim and Gopa Biswas argued that any relocation should take place only after proper arrangements had been made and the traders’ future had been secured.
The High Court has now allowed the Metro project to proceed while simultaneously directing the authorities to safeguard the interests of the affected traders. The written assurance concerning their return, along with the provision of basic services and security at the temporary site, is intended to address the shopkeepers’ primary concerns while allowing the infrastructure work to move forward.
The development is significant for the Joka–BBD Bagh Metro project, as the Dharmatala area is a crucial part of the planned route and the ongoing construction requires access to the Bidhan Market site.
