Tag: ICDS

WB Govt committed to improve transport infrastructure: Mamata Baneerjee

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said her government was committed to improve the entire transport infrastructure in the state.

Replying to a question in the state Assembly, Ms Banerjee said already several steps have been taken to improve the sector, but many more measures would be taken in the years to come to facilitate passengers.

Stating that the entire transport system had been thrown out of gear during the erstwhile Left Front regime, Ms Banerjee said her government has increased the number of buses, taxis and other modes of transport, besides removing hurdles for good administration in the sector.

A high power administrative committee has also been appointed to look after development in the sector.

Regretting that the Centre has curtailed many of its projects like Mid-Day Meal, housing for urban poor, ICDS and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana etc, Ms Banerjee said her government was trying to take up various development schemes on its own for the betterment of the people.

Replying to another question, Ms Banerjee said so far her government has issued land pattas to three lakh families in the state, while it would be given to 30,000 more families soon.

These pattas include community land patta, forest land patta and agricultural land patta, she said adding beneficiaries were selected on the basis of socio-economic class census.

Progress of Bengal will not be halted because of funds: WB CM

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Speaking at a public meeting in Raipur in Bankura district, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that in spite of the huge debt burden imposed on the State Government by the past Left Government, she did not let the developmental works in Bengal come to a standstill.

The Chief Minister said that a major portion of the State’s revenues are being spent to pay the debt incurred by the Left, before 2011. There is acute shortage of funds for developmental works, she said. In spite of the financial burden, the Trinamool Government had kept the process of developmental works unhindered.

From Raipur, the Chief Minister inaugurated 24 projects and laid foundation stones for another 55. She said that the next time she visits, she will inaugurate those, of which the foundation stones have been laid.

The Chief Minister said that in the past four years she had held 84 administrative meetings in the districts. She said that the atmosphere of Jangalmahal has changed and the fear factor that once ruled the area has vanished. She reiterated that peace prevails in Jangalmahal and without peace, development cannot take place.

The Chief Minister said the previous government had distributed on 12,000 pattas in three years while the present Government in four years have already distributed over 3 lakh pattas. She announced that girl students studying between classes VIII to X, who numbers 40 lakhs in Bengal, will be given bicycles.

She said that the payment for 100 Days’ Work scheme has already been released but many places in rural Bengal do not have banks which result in delays.  The Chief Minister also informed that 3.2 crore people in Jangalmahal area are being supplied rice at Rs 2/kg. She announced that besides Bankura, fair price medicine shops are being set up at Khatra and Sonamukhi.

The Chief Minister informed that in spite of the Centre slashing 50% funds in ICDS and other such schemes, the State Government is still carrying on those projects at its own cost.

This is a Govt of headline management not fiscal management: Derek

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Leader of the All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today slammed the Centre by calling it a government that focuses on headline management rather than fiscal management.

Criticising the government for taking several schemes like BRGF, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, mid-day meal scheme, ICDS, modernisation of police forces among others out of central funding, Derek asked the Centre to follow operative federalism instead of cooperative federalism.

He also called the bluff of the Centre on its claims of greater devolution to States. He said there was only a meagre increase from 61.88 paise to the rupee to 62 paise to the rupee. He slammed the government for the huge reduction in social sector budget.

Talking about the Centre’s much-publicised flagship scheme Jan Dhan Yojana, he asked the Finance Minister how many bank accounts have even Re 1 as balance. He criticised him for no mention of electoral reforms either in the Budget or the President’s Address.

Derek O’Brien concluded his speech by quipping two lines in Hindi:

Phool aur poude se hai maali ka kaam,

Jo kaante se darr jaye woh hoga nakaam.

 

Click here for the full transcript of his speech

Dr Amit Mitra slams Jaitley over ‘anti-people’ Union Budget

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West Bengal Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra on Saturday slammed Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying there was a dichotomy in the latter’s distribution of central resources to the state governments.

According to Dr Mitra, while one the hand, Jaitley is making a big public display of giving more resources to the state governments through a higher rate of tax devolution, he is carefully concealing the fact that he is also taking away a lot from them. “When you asked me about my reactions to the 14th finance commission recommendations on the higher rate of tax devolution on Friday, I reserved my comments till I studied the budget details.

“Today, after studying the same, it is clear to me that while on the one hand the Union government is making a big public display of offering additional resources to the state governments through a higher rate of tax devolution, on the other it has negated those additional resources by curtailing allocation under major heads of the different centrally sponsored schemes for the state governments,” Dr Mitra told mediapersons at Nabanna on Saturday.

According to Dr Mitra, a 22.14% cut under Sarva Siksha Avijan, a 50% reduction under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and a 12% cutback under the National Livelihood Mission (NLM) are greatest examples of what has been given with one hand and taken away by the other.

“One figure is enough to prove this. The total central grant to the state governments was 4.05 lakh crore for 2014-15, which has come down to 3.28 lakh crore for 2015-16,. It is completely an anti-people budget,” he said.

Commenting on the Union Finance Minister’s announcement of a special assistance package for Bengal and Bihar, Dr Mitra said he is not quite sure whether this special package will come at all.

“The Union Finance Minister said that this special assistance package will come on the lines of what had been earlier announced for Andhra Pradesh. Now, Andhra Pradesh got a financial package of 850 crore. This a paltry sum since the Union government straightaway takes out 28,000 crore from the Bengal exchequer for servicing its debt,” Dr Mitra said.

“The West Bengal Chief Minister will surely take up the matter when she meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.