Anti-fraud cell to protect cooperative banks

Anti-fraud cell to protect cooperative banks

Posted on November 21, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Government is coming up with an anti-fraud cell headed by a judicial magistrate to check incidents of fraud at cooperative banks across the State.

This was stated by the Cooperation Minister in the State Assembly on Monday, November 19.

He said that during the Left Front regime many cooperative banks were involved in financial irregularities. The Trinamool Congress Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been taking various preventive measures in this regard.

Referring to the FRDI Bill, he said, “This Bill is destructive. The savings of common people are no longer secure in banks. People will face economic insecurity. We must strengthen the protests against FRDI Bill.”

Later in the day, the minister told the Assembly, “In the current fiscal the cooperative banks have disbursed short-term loans worth Rs 5713.27 crore and long-term loans worth Rs 230.34 crore. That apart, more than one lakh families have been given Rs 180 crore for animal rearing. More funds will be allocated for the same.”

Source: Millennium Post

State Assembly passes Bill to give land rights to enclave dwellers

Posted on November 21, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a Bill to give land rights to enclave dwellers in north Bangla, ending an era of uncertain future for the people residing in those enclaves.

Bangladesh and India had exchanged a total of 162 enclaves on August 1, 2015, ending one of the world’s most-complex border disputes that had lingered for seven decades since Independence.

Moved by minister of state for land and land reforms, the West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2018, was passed in the House unopposed.

Speaking in support of the Bill, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said this “historic Bill” would help the enclave dwellers to get full-fledged status as citizens of India, along with all civic amenities and citizenship rights.

The Bill will help in the distribution of land-right documents to the people of the enclaves in the border district of Cooch Behar, the chief minister said, adding that the state government was working hard to give beneficiaries their due.

In Cooch Behar, 111 Indian enclaves, spread across 17,160 acres, became a part of Bangladesh territory and 51 Bangladesh enclaves, comprising 7,110 acres, joined India.

The enclave residents were allowed to either reside at their present location or move to the other country.

Around 37,334 people residing in the enclaves in the Indian side refused to go to Bangladesh, whereas 922 enclave dwellers, who were in the Bangladesh side, preferred to be in India, Banerjee said.

With the exchange of enclaves, following an agreement between the two countries with the consent of West Bengal, the enclave dwellers deserve their rights as the citizens of India, she said.

The state government had already spent over Rs 100 crore for the housing of the enclave dwellers, Banerjee said, adding that the government, which have received Rs 579 crore from the Centre, still had a due of Rs 426 crore. However, the state government needs to spent more from its own exchequer.

The process will result in creation of 13 new ‘mouzas’ (administrative district), while the rest of the area would be amalgamated with the existing 31 ‘mouzas’, the bill said. Plot-to-plot verification has already been undertaken to ascertain the ownership status of the land to the dwellers, who now reside on khas land.

Describing how her government helped settle the long-pending issue, Banerjee criticised the way genuine citizens were being harassed in Assam.

Those, who have come to India till March 1971, are all Indian citizens, “but a particular political party” was playing politics on the issue, forcing the genuine citizens even to commit suicide, she said.

Administrative reforms of the Urban Development Department

Posted on October 31, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department has undertaken several administrative reforms over the last seven years of the Trinamool Congress Government to make the municipal authorities more effective, responsive and vibrant.

The primary reforms are as follows:

Ease of Doing Business: An online system for payment of property tax on land and buildings in municipal cities has been launched on a pilot basis in ten municipalities. It will gradually be extended to other urban local bodies.

Amendment of West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993: An amendment has been made to empower executive officers and finance officers of municipalities in order to strengthen municipal administration.

Parastatals have been restructured, like merging the State Urban Development Agency and Change Management Unit to support the urban local bodies in a coordinated manner and reorganising Kolkata Municipal Development Authority (KMDA) by merging Kolkata Metropolitan Water and Sanitation Authority (KMWSA) and Kolkata Improvement Trust (KIT).

Ensuring use of proper plastic: Legislation has been made for banning the use of and disposal of plastic of improper thickness within municipal areas.

Safety of residents of old buildings: Through the introduction of the section 412A in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, the KMC can now enforce owners of dilapidated buildings to reconstruct the buildings for the safety of the residents.

Environment-friendly building rules: An amendment has been made to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Building Rules, 2009, by incorporating additional floor area ratio (FAR) in respect of green and other categories of buildings.

A similar amendment has been made to the West Bengal Municipal Building Rules, 2007 for the other municipal bodies of the State. In both cases, an additional FAR of 10 per cent for green buildings and 15 per cent for mass housing projects, hospitals, IT office buildings, mega commercial projects, etc. have been granted.

Unit area-based assessment of property tax: Amendments have been made in the KMC Act and the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 to bring about unit area-based assessment of property tax in the areas under Kolkata Municipal Corporation and in other municipal areas of the State, respectively.

Achievements of Water Resources Investigation & Development Dept

Posted on September 18, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The department of Water Resources Investigation has undertaken several projects for water conservation and creation of minor irrigation facilities throughout the State.

Let us have a look at some of them:

Jal Dharo Jal Bharo Abhiyan

The Jal Dharo Jal Bharo Scheme is being implemented across Bengal since 2011 through a campaign called Jal Dharo Jal Bharo Abhiyan. This scheme, including the name, is a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

During the last financial year (2017-18), till December 31, 31,165 water bodies and water detention structures have been created, out of which 5,937 have been created by WRI&D Department, 25,228 in collaboration with Panchayats and Rural Development Department.

From 2011 to December 31, 2017, a total of 2,27,101 water bodies and water detention structures have been created and renovated.

Expansion of minor irrigation facilities

Minor irrigation (MI) facilities have been vastly increased. By the installation and revival of 1,143 different types of irrigation schemes, viz. deep and shallow tube-wells, river-lift irrigation facilities, water harvesting tanks, surface flow minor irrigation schemes (SFMIS), check dams, solar power-operated minor irrigation schemes, etc., 36,351 hectares of irrigation potential has been created and revived.

The irrigation schemes have been implemented under different programmes, like Jalatirtha, West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation Project (WBADMIP – in collaboration with World Bank), Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RFID – in collaboration with NABARD), Core Sector, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), etc.

Minor irrigation projects in arid districts

In the arid districts of Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur, 351 minor irrigation programmes, with an irrigation potential of 11,708 hectares, have been completed under different projects to collect and conserve rainwater. Among the 351 are 48 check dams and 104 other water detention structures, creating an irrigation potential of 6,932 hectares.

Solar energy in minor irrigation projects

To promote the use of eco-friendly solar energy for power generation, 99 solar power-operated minor irrigation schemes, using sprinklers, tube-wells, pump-dug wells, etc., have been completed creating an irrigation potential of 1,108 hectares during 2017-18, up to December 31, 2017.

West Bengal State Science Fair 2018 begins

Posted on September 13, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

With the inspiration of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the State Youth Services Department is organising the West Bengal State Student Youth Science Fair 2018, a competitive exhibition of science models.

This Science Fair is being organised in association with various departments of the State Government – School Education, Higher Education, Science & Technology and Biotechnology – West Bengal State Council of Science and Technology, Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search, Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Kolkata.

The district-level fairs began on September 12 and will continue till September 15. The state-level fair will be held from September 26-28, 2018.

There will be three groups in the competition – A (till Class X), B (till Class XII) and C (for college students).

Eminent scientists of the country will be present at the fair. University students can directly participate in state-level fair. Apart from this, direct entries of exceptional science models, prepared by non-student youth, will be exhibited in the non-competitive section of the fair.

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The Hills are very close to my heart: Mamata Banerjee

Posted on September 5, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Bangla Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today laid the foundation stone of ‘Darjeeling Hill University’ at a function in Darjeeling, to commemorate Teachers’ Day. This university will come up at Mungpoo.

Highlights of the Chief Minister’s speech:

Today is the birth anniversary of Dr Radhakrishnan, which is observed as Teachers’ Day. My tribute to all Siksha Gurus on this occasion. They are the pillars of our society, assets of the country.

Today we have honoured 60 teachers with ‘Siksha Ratna’ award and 13 schools have been awarded the ‘Best School’ award. We are also honouring Swapna Barman (who won Gold in Heptathlon at Asian Games). We are a poor government. We have to pay Rs 48,000 crore as instalment for the debt incurred by the previous Left Front Government. Yet, we try our best to help. We have given a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to Swapna’s mother and promised a government job to her brother. If she wants, we will give a government job to her also.

We are formulating a new Sports Policy so that our players can participate in international competitions. We are here to provide all help and cooperation.

Today is a day of pride for Darjeeling. We have laid the foundation of ‘Darjeeling Hill University’ today. We will name this campus after Tenzing Norgay. Another campus will come up which will be named after Kanchenjunga. One more campus will be named after Bhanu Bhakta ji.

The engineering college here will be connected to this university. We are setting up an education hub at Kurseong. Presidency University is also setting up a campus here. An education hub is coming up at Kalimpong also.

We have allocated 25 acres of land for ‘Darjeeling Hill University’. The subjects that will be taught here include, humanities, social sciences, media science, information technology, vocational training, tourism, travel management, tea management, horticulture, Himalayan Studies etc. The university will award diploma certificates also.

We have set up 23 universities in the last seven years, nine more are coming up. Foundation stone for a university named after Gandhiji will be laid on his birth anniversary. We are setting up a Greenfield university at Hooghly. Bishwa Bangla University is coming up at Bolpur. New universities are coming up Alipurduar and Jhargram also.

These new universities will help us spread the light of education. Students will no longer need to go outside to study. Darjeeling is known for its education infrastructure. Even the Prime Minister of Bhutan once told me he studied at Graham’s Home.

The police here is conducting a community development programme called ‘Rising Star’ – it is a commendable effort. Darjeeling is known for its talented music and dance performers. We have decided to organise a cultural festival in Darjeeling in 2019 with all the Asian countries.

We have distributed cycles to 1 crore students of classes IX to XII. Since it is difficult to ride a cycle in the hilly areas, we have decided to distribute school bags and raincoats to 28,000 students in the Hills. No one will be deprived.

Many new roads have been created in Darjeeling. The Hills are very close to my heart. We have formed a committee for the development of this region. They will prepare a report within six months with short term, mid-term and long term plans for development. We will explore ways of increasing employment opportunities, home tourism, industry, software, IT. I am confident this committee will be successful.

We started home tourism in Lamahatta for the first time. Thrust needs to be given to this sector. I would request the boards to construct 500 houses every year (instead of 1000) and spend rest of the funds for boosting home tourism.

Today we have given forest rights to 431 people for the first time. Land conversion will happen soon. This will solve a lot of problems.
I also had a talk with the chairman of Darjeeling municipality. I urged him to renovate the public clocks in the town. Lal Kothi will also be beautified. The Gandhi road in Darjeeling will be paved with paver blocks. Pedestrians will benefit because of that. Take small initiatives, make big impact.

I want Darjeeling Hills to prosper. I want you to stay happy. I want to see Darjeeling smiling, Kurseong smiling, Mirik smiling, Kalimpong smiling and Kunchenjunga smiling.

Nature is your biggest asset. You do not have to beg before others. Take a resolve to utilise your own resources and march ahead with pride. My best wishes to all.

Jai Hind. Bande Mataram.

Second anniversary of the historic Singur verdict

Posted on August 31, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Today, August 31, is the second anniversary of the historic Singur verdict. On this day in 2016, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the acquisition of land in Singur for the building of a small car factory was illegal, and so the land acquired had to be returned to the farmers, who were always unwilling to part with their multi-crop plots.

The struggle for the farmers of Singur was one of the biggest milestones in the political career of Mamata Banerjee. Hence, as soon as the verdict was announced, the Trinamool Congress Government began preparations for returning the plots. Various techniques, including chemically altering the nature of the soil, were also started to be implemented to return the land to its fertile self. After all, Singur has always been a multi-crop land.

On September 14, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee handed over land deeds to the farmers at a grand ceremony in Singur. She symbolically initiated the re-cropping of the land by sprinkling maize seeds. Two years down the line, Singur has almost returned to its former self – acres upon acres of golden harvests of paddy, potato, pulses, maize, sesame, mustard and several more crops.

The Singur Movement is now internationally renowned, and it was Mamata Banerjee who single-handedly put it on the world map. Her struggle and eventual victory is a landmark in the agrarian history of the world, not just of India.

On this special occasion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted to express her solidarity with farmers of the entire country:

“On August 31, 2016, the SC, in a historic judgment declared that the land acquisition made by erstwhile Left Govt in Singur was illegal. On 2nd anniversary of the historic judgment, my best wishes to all farmers of the country. We are always committed to their struggle & cause”.

Bangla Govt forms committee for Vidyasagar’s bicentenary birth celebration

Posted on August 26, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Government has set up a 27-member committee to celebrate the birth bicentenary of one of Bangla’s icons, the social reformer and educationist Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee will be the president of the body. The members of the committee comprise four Cabinet ministers – those of transport, irrigation and waterways, information technology and women and child development and social welfare, the chief secretary, secretaries of several departments and councils, principal of Ramakrishna Mission, Jhargram, four prominent journalists, noted academicians and several others

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar had played an important role in spreading education, especially among children. He had written Barnaparichay, Kathamala, Batrish Singhasan and Betal Panchabingsati for children. For those pursuing Sanskrit, he wrote Upakramanika.

Source: Millennium Post

Some recent successes of the MSME Department

Posted on August 21, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles Department has seen a lot of success over the last seven years of the Trinamool Congress Government.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee take a special interest in this department as the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) form the primary channel for reviving and sustaining the traditional arts and crafts of Bengal. Due to the stress given on helping these types of enterprises, there has been a large-scale economic revival especially across the rural belts and small towns of the State.

Some of the recent successes of the department are described below:

‘Joyee’ footballs by Refugee Handicrafts division: The Refugee Handicrafts division of the MSM Department has been doing exemplary work by engaging women from rural regions in manufacturing football, thus also reviving the football manufacturing industry in Bengal. These superior quality footballs are sold under the brand name of ‘Joyee’, given by Mamata Banerjee herself.

To make the products commercially successful, a decision has been taken to make the footballs available at least at one point in every district, besides in other places. People became well-aware of the football brand after the balls were distributed by the State Government among local clubs ahead of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup last October.

Model farm in Jhargram to help tribal population: A model farm has been set up in Jhargram district to help the tribal population there gain financial independence. The over-20-acre farm will produce vetiver, lemongrass and essential oils. Vetiver is used in making bags and mats, and the bags in which the saplings are given to the mothers of newborns under the Sabujshree scheme.

A distillation unit will also be established there. Over 50,000 people are already associated with the aroma industry in this district. This venture will be a blueprint for more such ventures, which will help in employment generation as well as in making many of the tribal people self-sufficient.

Aroma garden in Baruipur and Jhargram: The aroma industry is coming up in Bengal in a very big way. Towards that end, the MSME Department is setting up two aroma gardens – one on 4 acres at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district and another on 40 acres in Jhargram.

Oil will be extracted from the plants and trees, even from the roots. Aroma therapy is used in beauty treatment and also to cure some diseases. Lavender, rosemary and lemongrass are being planted in Baruipur.

Kanyashree & Sabuj Sathi earn Supreme Court’s high praises

Posted on July 25, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bengal Government’s flagship girl child empowerment scheme, Kanyashree, a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has now earned the praise of the Supreme Court too.

A bench of judges of the highest court expressed this opinion during a hearing. The Trinamool Congress counsel in court said that 34 lakh schoolgirls have benefitted from the scheme.

The bench was also full of praises for Sabuj Sathi, the scheme in which bicycles are presented to all school students, both girls and boys, for travelling to school, often from long distances.

Source: Ei Samay