Land development in Action Areas II and III of New Town could throw traffic haywire in central Calcutta and on EM Bypass, the police and transport department have warned.

The low-lying areas in the Rajarhat township will be filled with silt from the Hooghly, to be transported by trucks. All three corridors that Hidco, the implementing agency of New Town, has identified for the passage of the silt-filled trucks are congested, the transport department has noted in its feasibility report.

Except for VIP Road and the Bypass, all the thoroughfares on the proposed routes are narrow, with space being further restricted by cars parked on both sides.

?Police have endorsed the transport department?s views,? a Hidco official said.

Around 2.9 crore cubic metres of soil will be required to level over 300 hectares in Action Area II and 865 hectares in Action Area III. The trucks will have to make around 1.5 million trips spread over more than two years.

After leaving the river banks, the vehicles are scheduled to ply through Sovabazar Street, via Bhupen Bose Avenue. From there, one of the routes passes through BT Road and Dum Dum Road, via Jessore Road, turns right into VIP Road and then left at the Teghoria flyover.

The second route passes through Bhupen Bose Avenue, RG Kar Road, Belgachhia Road and Jessore Road. Thereafter, it merges with the earlier course.

Trucks on the third route will ply through Aurobindo Sarani, Bidhannagar Road and the Ultadanga crossing, before hitting the Bypass. From the Bypass, they will turn left at the Chingrihata flyover and enter the township through Salt Lake Sector V.

?We will have to obtain approval from police, as trucks are banned on VIP Road and the Bypass, and also in Salt Lake,? said a Hidco official.

Around 35 years ago, while Salt Lake was coming up after levelling a marshy sprawl, silt was transported from the Hooghly through pipes.

Why is the model not being followed in New Town? ?It will prove costly, as the township is 16 km from the river. Laying such long pipelines and installing a booster station for even 500 hectares will cost around Rs 350 crore,? the official pointed out.

For the same reason, Hidco has ruled out bringing in soil through a ropeway.

Housing minister Goutam Deb refused comment on the matter.