June 2, 2014
Pace of work of the projects in North Bengal satisfactory: WB CM at Uttarkanya
West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. MamataBanerjee has begun her North Bengal tour today by chairing an administrative meeting at Uttarkanya. Administrativeofficers and top police officials from three districts of Coochbehar,Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling were present at the review meeting.
The Chief Minister will return to Kolkata tonight. West Bengal Government, along with Cricket Association of Bengal, will felicitate Kolkata Knight Riders for their IPL victory. After the programme, WB CM will leave for North Bengal again.
The Chief Minister will be touring the entire Dooars region in Jalpaiguri andparts of Kalimpong sub-division of Darjeeling district to thank people for thesupport they lent to Trinamool in the Lok Sabha elections. She will hold an administrative meeting at Madarihat on June 4. She will also conduct meetings with the officials of North Bengal Development Corporation and Tribal Development Council on June 6 at Rajabhatkhawa.
Excerpts from the Chief Minister`s press briefing after the meeting:
We are the only Government to have anAdministrative Calendar. We also passed the Right to Services Act. We have done54 Administrative meetings at block level in the last three years.
We havereviewed the work done by each department and have observed that the pace ofwork in the three districts of Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar and Darjeeling has beensatisfactory. Some of the projects faced financial problems due to non-releaseof funds by the Central Government but the State Government bailed those out byproviding the necessary funds.
50 new buses have been sanctioned for NorthBengal. Another 240 buses will be in service before the Durga Puja. Coochbehar will get two medical colleges,one being set up in PPP model. Raiganj will also get a medical college. Work ofCircuit Bench at Jalpaiguri is progressing at a good pace. We are awaitingjudicial advice on the bifurcation of Jalpaiguri. New fair price medicine shopsare being set up.
Work for boosting the infrastructure of tourismin the Terai-Dooars area is going on in full swing. Roads are being repaired.We are also taking steps to boost the clearance of small and medium scaleindustries in this region. Clusters ofindustries will get a boost.
We will be developing a new road connectingSiliguri with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. This will cost Rs 1400 crore. Aproposal has been sent to the Cabinet. We are also working on the issue ofborder enclaves.
The Government meeting that was scheduledto take place at Madarihat tomorrow will now happen on Wednesday at 1 PM. Iwill inspect the tourism centers nears Jayanti. I will also attend meetings of North Bengal Development Corporation andthe Tribal Development Council at Rajabhatkhawa. We have decided to conductsurprise visits at border areas to check the pace of work.
I love my tribal brothers and sisters. Weare always there for the workers of various tea gardens. North Bengal has beenneglected for decades. We are trying our best to work for the people here. Weare grateful to the people of North Bengal for showering their love on us.Bengal is a land of communal harmony. We will not allow any divisive politicsin the State.
