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Regular-article-logo Wednesday, 24 April 2024

Warning on welfare plan ‘laxity’

Much of the resentment against Trinamul stemmed from bribes allegedly demanded for benefits

Devadeep Purohit Siliguri Published 22.10.19, 07:20 PM
Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee (File photo)

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday indicated to elected representatives and officials that she would not tolerate any laxity in implementing the government’s flagship programmes, issuing the warning armed with inputs from the Didi Ke Bolo drive.

At an administrative meeting in Uttar Kanya, Mamata asked the districts’ authorities to spell out whether the farmers were getting the benefits of all schemes, whether the targets of job creation were being achieved and whether people were getting the cards under the Swasthya Sathi group insurance scheme.

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“I want a full report on what you are doing,” the chief minister said at the beginning of the meeting with the officials of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri.

As the representatives of the districts presented their report cards, Mamata, accompanied by chief secretary Rajiva Sinha, quizzed the officials.

“Lakhs of people are giving live feedback on government projects through the Didi Ke Bolo programme…. Then, there is the chief minister’s grievance cell,” said a source.

According to the source, the feedback from the two initiatives indicated that one of the major reasons behind Trinamul’s poor show in the Lok Sabha polls was people’s anger with the ruling party’s local satraps and ground-level officials. Much of the resentment stemmed from bribes allegedly demanded for benefits under government schemes.

Mamata has been trying to address the issue by prodding both elected representatives and government officials to work efficiently. “There should not be any delay in distributing caste certificates for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes,” said Mamata.

The next question was on progress in distributing benefits under the Krishak Bandhu scheme through which the government gives financial assistance of up to Rs 5,000 a year to farmers. “Are farmers getting compensation for crop loss?” she asked.

After taking stock of the performance on government schemes, Mamata spoke to industry representatives and enquired about their problems. “Tea is so important for Bengal but I have heard that tea from Nepal is entering the Indian market with the tag of Darjeeling Tea. What are you doing about it?” she asked.

Mamata assured the tea industry that the cabinet would soon clear a proposal so that gardens can use a part of the land for other purposes, which would help them deal with their cash-flow problems.

She asked stakeholders of the tourism industry to “properly market” north Bengal as a destination. She agreed to a proposal to start courses on travel and tourism and tea research in North Bengal University.

Then she turned to finance and industries minister Amit Mitra and urged him to carry forward the government’s plan to create more job opportunities in the region. “We have to create more space for smaller IT firms,” Mamata said.

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