New initiatives taken by the Cooperation Department in Bengal

New initiatives taken by the Cooperation Department in Bengal

Posted on July 6, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bengal Government’s Cooperation Department has taken several initiatives to improve the reach of cooperative societies across the State by converting cooperative societies into banks, and introducing computerisation and modern banking services. Regular audits of cooperative societies are being conducted and special initiatives are being taken for increasing memberships of cooperative societies.

New initiatives

Overhauling rural cooperative system: The department has set a target of overhauling the entire rural cooperative system and mobilising deposits of about Rs 1 lakh crore in the next two to three years. As a result, cooperative banks and primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) will be able to contribute more effectively towards various Government schemes and extend loans to SHGs. They should be able to extend at least 50 per cent of the almost Rs 40,000 crore loan required annually for crop production and marketing.

Banking for the unbanked: The department has set a target of opening at least 75 cooperative bank branches in unbanked gram panchayats (GP) by the end of financial year 2018-19.

Modern banking: Modern banking facilities, viz., ATM, RTGS, NEFT, etc. are being provided at existing cooperative banks. Till now, 350 branches of West Bengal State Cooperative Bank (WBSCB) and Central Cooperative Bank (CCB) have already been CBS-enabled and 80 ATMs are in operation. Besides, mobile ATM services have also been introduced.

Assistance to PACS: An assistance of Rs 34.75 crore has been given for the computerisation of 2,780 primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS).

New cold storage units: Construction of six cold storage units has been taken up, having a total capacity of 49,000 MT, which are likely to be completed during the current year.

Regular audit: Initiatives have been taken to conduct timely and regular audit of cooperative societies.

Increasing membership: Special initiatives have been taken to enhance the memberships of cooperative societies.

Samabay Bhavans: The State Government has decided to establish Samabay Bhavans in all the districts to accommodate all offices related to the Cooperation Department under one roof. So far, bhavans have been completed in Purba Bardhaman (Bardhaman), Paschim Bardhaman (Asansol), Bankura, Purulia, North 24 Parganas and Paschim Medinipur. Construction is going on in Malda.

Important schemes being implemented in the cooperative sector by Bengal Govt

Posted on July 6, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Several important schemes are being implemented by the State Cooperation Department to improve the cooperative sector. The Trinamool Congress Government has been very proactive in empowering the rural population, as well as the urban population to some extent, by energising the cooperative sector.

Special Bad Debt Reserve for CCBs and PACS (Risk Fund): Under this scheme, an outright grant to primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS) and central cooperative banks (CCB), at 4 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively, of the additional amount of loans issued over and above last year’s amounts, would be given to encourage agricultural credit to the weaker sections of society. Rs 1,300 lakh has been allocated for the Special Bad Debt Reserve for CCBs (Risk Fund) and Rs 2,600 lakh has been allocated for the Special Bad Debt Reserve for PACSs (Risk Fund).

Strengthening of central cooperative banks (CCB): Rs 500 lakh has been allocated for assisting the weak central cooperative banks for 2018-19, to strengthen the capital base and raise the net worth, as these banks play a pivotal role in spreading the Cooperative Movement at the district-level.

Strengthening of primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS): Rs 1,000 lakh has been allocated for assisting the weak primary agricultural cooperative societies in hiring godowns, purchasing furniture, giving incentives to staff, computerising offices and training SHGs, for a period of three years.

Investment in shares – National Rural Credit (Long Term Operations) Fund: Rs 500 lakh has been allocated for 2018-19 towards financial assistance in the form of State share to West Bengal State Cooperative Bank (WBSCB), Central Cooperative Banks (CCB), West Bengal State Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (WBSCARD) and Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDB), to strengthen their capital base.

Assistance for universal membership: Rs 50 lakh has been allocated for 2018-19 for encouraging the weaker sections of society to be brought within the cooperative fold by allowing an assistance of Rs 250 per head to purchase shares of PACSs.

Training of self-help groups (SHG): Rs 965 crore has been allocated for 2018-19 for sensitisation and awareness training programmes for the members of more than 2 lakh SHGs, and for skill development training for the members of the SHGs.

Supply of long-term credit: Rs 500 crore has been allocated for 2018-19 for supplying long-term credit to the weaker sections of society by the agricultural and rural development banks.

Assistance for offsetting imbalance in PCARDBs: Rs 4,000 lakh has been allocated for 2018-19 for reviving WBSCARD and the PCARDBs under the long-term cooperative credit sector.

Urban credit cooperative sector: For 2018-19, for the revival and development of the urban cooperative banks (URB), urban credit cooperative societies (UCCS) and mahila cooperative societies (MCS), Rs 100 lakh, Rs 300 lakh and Rs 300 lakh, respectively has been allocated.

Establishment of cold storages: Rs 200 lakh has been allocated for 2018-19 for the repairing, renovation and expansion of cold storages under the various cooperatives.

Establishment of storage godowns: Rs 50 lakh has been allocated for 2018-19, to be given to primary agricultural credit societies and primary agricultural marketing societies for the construction of godowns and the repairing and renovation of existing ones.

Assistance to agricultural marketing societies: Rs 1,000 lakh and Rs 50 lakh have been allocated to West Bengal State Cooperative Marketing Federation and the primary agricultural marketing societies, respectively, to supply agricultural inputs like fertilizers, seeds, etc. and market agricultural produce including procurement of paddy at the State Government-mandated minimum support price (MSP).

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF): Rs 6,000 lakh has been allocated for 2018-19 under RIDF for the construction of large godowns, cold storages, rice mills, seed farms, etc.

Development of cooperative societies: For 2018-19, Rs 200 lakh has been allocated for Apex Consumers’ Cooperative Society, Rs 300 lakh for urban consumers’ cooperative societies and another Rs 200 lakh for rural consumers’ cooperative societies.

Training: Rs 275 lakh has been allotted for 2018-19 for the construction of training centres and for conducting training programmes by West Bengal State Cooperative Union.

Samabay Bhavans: Samabay Bhavans have been built in the districts of Purba Bardhaman (Bardhaman), Paschim Bardhaman (Asansol), Bankura, Purulia, North 24 Parganas and Paschim Medinipur. Construction is going on in Malda. Rs 200 crore has been allotted for constructions in a few more districts.

Ad hoc Grant to employees of cooperative societies: Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated for 2018-19 under the head of Ad hoc Grant for enhancing the emoluments of the employees of the various cooperative societies.

West Bengal Cooperative Service Commission: Rs 74 lakh has been allocated for 2018-19 for West Bengal Cooperative Service Commission, which selects and recommends the appointments of personnel in cooperative societies across the state, in line with the provisions of the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act, 2006.

Fairground of international-standard coming up at Milan Mela complex

Posted on June 27, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Last year, the Bengal Government had decided to construct a new permanent fairground at Milan Mela. Now the architect has been decided, and what would come up is a trade fair ground of international standards. The new Milan Mela will come up in two years.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress Government’s concerted efforts over the last few years are gradually turning Kolkata into a favoured destination for many international trade fairs, conferences and tournaments.

The redesigned fairground will have two massive exhibition halls that will together offer 200,000 sq ft space. They will be separated by an area equipped with an auditorium, will be a global cuisine hub.

Covering the walls of the exhibition halls will be an exo-skin architectural membrane on which will be displayed audio-visual content, including films, 3D projections and illumination graphics. This will be a first in the country.

The exhibition halls will be designed in such a way that the crowd would get evenly distributed, without giving a choking feeling. The design has been prepared keeping in mind that at any given point, the maximum gathering could go up to 2.5 lakh.

A road cutting across the fairground will drop off visitors inside and then end at a multi-level parking space.

The centrepiece of the project, however, will be the Biswa Bangla tower. It will be an illuminated smart clock tower capped with a dome. There will be a trade museum underneath it that will tell the history of Bengal’s trade.

Source: The Times of India

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Bengal Govt to upgrade sub-health centres, recruit more than 5,000 nurses

Posted on June 24, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bengal Government has decided to substantially upgrade the 10,357 sub-health centres in the state. Each sub-health centre will be turned into a ‘Health and Wellness Centre’, where staff nurses will be on duty along with doctors. Hence, 5,250 staff nurses will be recruited for the project.

As many as 12 health facilities, including ENT, dental, eye, ante- and post-natal treatments, and treatment of communicable diseases will become possible once the sub-health centres get upgraded.

It may be mentioned that under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the Health Minister, the State-run hospitals have improved immensely; the infrastructure has been developed manifold to ensure better service to the people.

Source: Millennium Post

Bengal Govt invites applications for second phase of Bonyopran Sathi scheme

Posted on June 24, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bengal Government is ready with the second phase of its highly successful scheme, Bonyo22pran Sathi (Honorary Wildlife Volunteer Service Programme), which offers wildlife enthusiasts the opportunity to venture into core areas of forests, especially in north Bengal and the Sundarbans, to get real-life experiences on how to deal with animals and in the process, learn about them through hands-on experience.

Interested participants for this study-cum-adventure programme of the Forest Department have to submit a form, the last date for which is June 30.

Those who will go into the forests will go as conservationists and not merely as tourists, said the Forest Minister while announcing the dates and other details. He said that this is one-of-a-kind scheme in the country.

After the completion of the programme, the enthusiasts will be expected to spread the message of wildlife protection and environmental conservation in their localities.

As part of the programme, visitors will stay with forest guards in camps, which will also give them the experience of keeping guard in a forest. Before a tour starts, the visitors will be provided a day-long training on how to behave if they come close to animals like tigers, elephants, leopards, deer, etc. during their adventure. A team will be accompanied by two Forest Department officials, who will be experts in handling wild animals.

The first phase drew applications from a lot of enthusiasts, and so has the second phase. Applications have already come from a diverse range of people like school teachers, professors, retired Army personnel and businessmen.

There are six national parks and 15 wildlife sanctuaries in Bengal.

Click here to download the form and details about the scheme.

Source: Aajkaal

Bengal Govt to introduce integrated project monitoring system

Posted on June 24, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

To ensure better execution of projects, the State Government is planning to introduce an integrated online platform for monitoring projects undertaken by its departments.

This was decided at a recent meeting of senior officials of some of the crucial departments of the State Government, including Finance Department, Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department and Public Works Department. The preliminary tasks for introducing the integrated project monitoring system have already been carried out.

It may be mentioned that, after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011, Bengal has witnessed a lot of developmental work. Moreover, in a bid to ensure that all projects are implemented properly and in a time-bound manner, the Chief Minister visits every district to hold administrative review meetings with concerned officials.

The Trinamool Congress Government has also introduced the Integrated Finance Management System (IFMS) and it has simplified the system of managing all finance-related issues.

Source: Millennium Post

No central funds for Ghatal Master Plan, Bengal Govt livid

Posted on June 17, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

After coming to power, Mamata Banerjee had instructed the Irrigation Department to draw up a plan to provide relief to the people of Ghatal from recurrent floods every year. This ‘master plan’ was drawn up by the department and sent to the Centre for clearance in 2014. Although the Centre has finally given its nod to Ghatal Master Plan, but they have not allocated any fund for the Rs 1238 crore project.

The Chief Secretary of the Union Minister of Water Resources communicated the same to state government officials last week. The Bengal Government is livid as the Centre has refused to bear the cost of the project. The officials have decided to write to the Centre seeking funds for Ghatal Master Plan.

As per the officials, this is yet another example of the neglect shown by Centre towards the State. In the past, for irrigation projects, the Centre and State used to share the cost at a ratio of 75-25. After Narendra Modi led government came to power, the share of Centre was reduced to 50 per cent. But in case of Ghatal Master Plan, the Centre has not even allocated funds for its share of 50 per cent.

What is Ghatal Master Plan?

As per the irrigation department officials, during monsoon, areas of Ghatal get inundated by the waters of Shilabati river. This causes a lot of trouble to the people of the region. Even areas like Chetua, Daspur 1 and 2 blocks are affected. The master plan was drawn up to provide relief to the people. The plan includes construction of a 6 meter dam over Shilabati river and installation of a pump (with 5000 cusec capacity) in Ghatal. This apart, desiltation work will be carried out at Old Kosi, New Kosi, Durgachoti and other rivers to increase navigability. Repair work would be carried out for several canals.

By not allotting funds for Ghatal Master Plan, the Centre has yet again dealt a several blow to the federal structure of the country.

Bengal CM writes to Centre, saying it’s extremely wrong to sell off Bengal Chemicals

Posted on June 17, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a strong letter to the Union Commerce & Industry Ministry regarding the Central Government’s decision to sell off Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a company with a long and illustrious history.

Though it was not doing well for some time, in the last few years it has turned around quite a bit. The company earned profits during the 2016-17 fiscal, which almost doubled during the 2017-18 fiscal (an increase of 97.5 per cent). In this state of things, what is needed is more help from the Centre rather than selling it off.

Hence, the Chief Minister has written in the letter that the decision to sell it off should be immediately taken back. She has also written that the Bengal Government would provide all manner of help to build Bengal Chemicals up into a Maharatna company.

The company also has units in Mumbai and Kanpur. The Centre had previously too tried to sell the company. It was mainly Mamata Banerjee’s efforts which prevented that from happening.

Another point raised by the Chief Minister in her letter is the fact that the Kolkata High Court is yet to decide on the case filed by the workers and unions of the company against the Centre’s decision to sell it off.

Then, the company is engaged in manufacturing fair-priced essential goods for the common people. Hence, it can never be termed a ‘low-priority enterprise’, as the Centre has signified it.

Mamata Banerjee in her letter has also written about the illustrious history of the company and its crucial role in the movement for Indian-made goods during the colonial period.

All in all, the Chief Minister, through coherent arguments, has clearly indicated in the letter that it is an absolutely wrong decision to sell off Bengal Chemicals, as it is a profitable company now.

Paternity leave – Bengal shows the way

Posted on June 17, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Children have been an area of special focus for the Trinamool Congress Government. Under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bengal has been among the best performers in terms of infant mortality rate, and under-5 mortality rate, and in institutional delivery too.

The State Government has a comprehensive maternal leave structure. However, the importance of fathers during the phase of the birth of a child and during the period following that has been recognised too by the Government.

Following the initiative of Mamata Banerjee, the Bengal Government has shown the way to other States by instituting paternity-cum-child care leave in 2016. A cumulative period of 30 days is granted for the purpose for all State Government employees, Panchayat & other Local Bodies, Boards, sponsored/non-Govt aided Schools and Colleges, State-aided Universities & Companies, Corporations, Undertakings, etc.

The image is representative (Source)

Mamata Banerjee conveys message of love and peace from Red Road

Posted on June 16, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Today is Eid. The festival of happiness is being celebrated across the nation, and of course in Kolkata.

In Kolkata as well as in many other places in Bengal people are offering namaz. From the morning, the traditional mass namaz is being offered at Red Road with much fanfare. Live every year, this year too Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present during the offering of namaz.

From the stage, she once again gave out a strong message of love and peace. She commiserated with the people for standing in this heat, after the fasting during the month of Ramzan.

She said that she goes to every place of worship, be it temple, mosque, church or gurdwara. She further said that her parents had taught her to always respect all religions. She went on to say that India is for everyone, be they Hindu or Muslim or anyone.

On the occasion of Eid, festivities would be spread out through the whole day in Kolkata. At 3 pm, a peace procession would commence from Park Circus. Another one will wind through Park Street, Mallikbazar, AJC Bose Road, Beckbagan, Exide Crossing and JL Nehru Road, to end at Mayo Road.