Dola Sen speaks on the plight of tea garden workers in Bengal

Dola Sen speaks on the plight of tea garden workers in Bengal

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

FULL TRANSCRIPT

West Bengal Government has fully exempt tea gardens from agricultural income tax for the years 2018-19 and 2019-2020. There are 2.72 lakh workers in Bengal’s tea gardens and 8 lakh dependants living in tea gardens. The Bengal Government is committed to ensuring the welfare of tea garden workers and has allocated more than 1000 crore since 2011 for this. The West Bengal Government gives 35 kg rice at Rs 2 per kg, provides electricity and water supply to tea gardens, and raised their wages.

In the midst of politically motivated trade unions strikes, tea garden owners have gone to court to declare their tea garden as ‘abandoned’. As a result, workers are suffering. The West Bengal Government is proactively taking action against organisations who are not paying Provident Fund and gratuity. The lease of abandoned tea gardens which had been shut down are being cancelled and auctioned.

On the other hand, the Centre has failed to fulfil its promise of taking over 7 tea gardens. The promise was made by a Union Minister during 2016 Assembly election campaign. Tea estates in other parts of the country such as Assam need urgent attention of the Union Government. Other states and Centre must take inspiration from the Bengal model to uplift the conditions of tea farmers. Many tea workers still work at low wages and poor working conditions. The Centre must work towards ensuring better working conditions for tea workers to promote the industry.

Bengal Govt mulls increasing paternity leave

Posted on July 12, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bengal government is planning to increase paternity-cum-child care leave for its employees from 30 days to 45 days.

The Trinamool Congress Government was the first State Government to introduce paternity-cum-child care leave, in February 2016. It was introduced, considering that it would be of great help for the male employees to discharge their responsibilities towards their children in a better way.

All male employees of the Panchayat and other local bodies, boards, sponsored and non-government aided schools and colleges, state-aided universities and companies, corporations and undertakings are entitled to get the paternity-cum-child care leave.

Paternity leave can be taken during the birth of the child or at any time at a stretch, up to 18 years of his child’s age.

Source: Millennium Post

Fisheries sector policies of the Bengal Govt benefiting fishermen

Posted on July 10, 2018 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The State Government has created several policies for the development of the fisheries sector. The important ones are given below.

West Bengal Fisheries Investment Policy 2015:For attracting substantial investments in the fisheries sector, the Government has promulgated the West Bengal Fisheries Investment Policy 2015. From FY 2015-17 till now, 30 projects have been initiated at an investment (by both private and Government players) of Rs 339.35 crore. During the Bengal Global Business Summit 2018, 19 memorandums of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 760.3 crore were signed.

Amendment of method of settlement of Government waterbodies:The chapter dedicated to Government water bodies in the West Bengal Land & Land Reforms Manual was amended by the State Government with the intention of infusing better competitiveness and adoption of scientific methods of pisciculture and thereby increasing the production of fish. This step has boosted rural employment generation and optimum use of Government fisheries as a resource by giving priority in the tendering process to functional fishermen’s cooperative societies, fish production groups and self-help groups (SHG).

Training and extension:The number of fishermen who have received training has gone up from 6,170 in 2010-11 to 16,394 in 2017-18. Awareness camps in the form of Krishi Mela, Wetland Day, Fish Farmers’ Day, etc., are being regularly organised.

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.

Achievements of the Cooperation Department

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

The cooperative sector is a major success story in Bengal. As per the direction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the State Cooperation Department, by empowering cooperatives societies, upgrading numerous societies to banks to overcome the problem of lack of banks in far-flung areas, and through loans from cooperative banks, creating lakhs of self-help groups (SHG), has enabled the rural populace of Bengal to enjoy an economic revival like never before.

In total, there are more than 28,000 cooperative societies having a membership of more than 78 lakh, and lakhs of self-help groups involving more than 18 lakh people.

Achievements of the Cooperation Department

Huge increase in loan dispersals: Over the last seven financial years, that is, 2010-11 to 2017-18, crop loan disbursed has increased by 143.88 per cent (from Rs 1,388 crore to Rs 3,385 crore) and loan given to SHGs has increased by 374.42 per cent (Rs 129 crore to Rs 612 crore).

Huge increase in paddy procurement: Over the last seven financial years, that is, 2010-11 to 2017-18, quantity of paddy procured by BENFED and CONFED has increased by 157.87 per cent (1.97 lakh MT to 5.08 lakh MT), whose corresponding value increased by 124.5 per cent (Rs 351 crore to Rs 788 crore).

BENFED is the acronym for West Bengal State Cooperative Marketing Federation Ltd. While CONFED is the acronym for West Bengal State Consumers Cooperative Federation Ltd.

Crop loans: During financial year (FY) 2016-17, more than 50 per cent of crop loans in Bengal, or Rs 3,018 crore, was extended by cooperative banks only. Over the last seven years, crop loans to the tune of Rs 18,162 crore have been disbursed.

Kisan Credit Cards: During the last seven years, 8,97,664 Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) have been issued. ATM-enabled RuPay Kisan Cards has been introduced and already around 10 lakh cards have been distributed amongst the farmer-members.

Membership drives: A special initiative was taken to enhance membership of cooperative societies, as a result of which 1,51,602 new members have been enrolled by primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS).

Elections for cooperative societies: Cooperative Election Commission was set up for holding free and fair elections for management of cooperative societies. It started functioning from April 16, 2012, since when, elections to 8,262 societies have been held.

Financing: During the 2017-18 fiscal, West Bengal State Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development (WBSCARD) Bank received the highest ever refinance of Rs 212 crore from NABARD.

Crop loans: There are 23,70,281 Kisan Credit Card (KCC) holders and crop loans worth Rs 2,005.33 crore have been disbursed to 8,41,424 farmer-members.

Self-Help Groups (SHG): FY 2017-18 saw the creation of 1,721 SHGs and the credit-linking of 18,029 SHGs. Loans worth Rs 612.25 crore have been extended to SHGs.

Kharif marketing season (KMF): During KMS 2016-17, 28 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of the 39 LMT of paddy procured was through cooperative societies.

Seed multiplication units: As part of the cooperative sector, 57 seed multiplication units have been set up; another three, involving Rs 1.14 crore, are to be completed soon.

Godowns: Four storage godowns, having a total capacity of 5,462 MT, have been constructed at a cost of Rs 2.73 crore.

Cold storages: Construction of six cold storages, having a total capacity of 49,000 MT, is going on at a cost of Rs 67.18 crore.

Samabay Bhavan: The purpose of Samabay Bhavans is to bring all the district offices and institutions of the cooperative sector under one roof to ensure smooth and hassle-free service. 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.

Sufala outlets: Sufala outlets are being opened across more and more districts to provide quality vegetables and grocery items to the masses at fair prices. For selling at these State Government-owned outlets, the government buys directly from the farmers thus helping them get remunerative prices. So far, 30 Sufala outlets have been opened across six districts and 70 Mobile Sufala outlets have been opened across seven districts.

Fairs and conventions: Samabay Mela 2017 was organised from April 11 to 13, 2017 at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata to showcase the achievements and products prepared by the cooperative societies and self-help groups. At the function, Samabay Ratna, Samabay Bhushan and Samabay Shri awards were bestowed on cooperatives. On January 25, 2018, the first-ever convention on cooperatives in Bengal since independence, titled ‘Cooperatives in Socio-Economic Development’, was held at Netaji Indoor Stadium. It was inaugurated by the Chief Minister.

Government to citizen services: An initiative has been taken by the Cooperation Department to incorporate the services offered in terms of the West Bengal Cooperative Societies Act and the rules therein into the e-District Project under the National e-Governance Plan through which government-to-citizen services will be provided online. The objective is to ensure prompt and effective delivery of services in a transparent manner. A total of 89 services have been identified for the purpose, of which six services have already gone live, nine more services are ready to be deployed live and development work of the remaining services are under process.

Awards: Nadia District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd., Krishnanagar has received the award for best performance in the country during FY 2017-18 for outstanding performance in SHG development.

State Govt brings relief to passengers, asks app cabs to limit surge fares

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

Listening to the voice of the people, the Trinamool Congress Government has taken a decision to limit the amount by which app cabs can increase their fares during periods of high demand.

Surge fares, as it is called, can only go up to a level of 45 per cent of the base, or minimum, fares. This will apply for all app cab companies. Usually, the fares go up when the demand for cabs is more and the supply is less.

This and other crucial decisions were made after a meeting between the State Transport Minister and representatives of app cab companies on July 4.

The basic fares of the app cab services have to be announced so that the Transport Department is aware of them and people also come to know the base fare that they have to pay to avail the cabs. The app cab operators have to give a report containing details of the fare slabs to the Transport Department.

There will be no surge pricing during office hours on weekdays, hence higher fares cannot be charged for the 12 hours from 8am to 8pm.

Another decision made was that a portion of the surge fare has to be given to drivers. There will also be a review meeting after every three months.

Earlier, the app cab operators had been directed by the Transport Department to take a certain measures to ensure the safety and security of passengers.

Source: Millennium Post

Irregularities in admission won’t be tolerated: Bengal CM

Posted on July 3, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday paid a surprise visit to Ashutosh College in South Kolkata and warned of stern action against those who were indulging in irregularities during the admission process of colleges. She also interacted with the students and leaders of students’ union of the college.

On her way to Nabanna on Monday morning, Mamata Banerjee walked into the college where she spoke to students, their parents and officials at the online desk to take a stock of the ongoing admission process.

After the interaction, she said: “I have not received any complaint here. But we must keep in mind that students are our future. There are many meritorious students from financially weaker backgrounds and it is not a sin to be from a poor family. So students should not face any trouble in getting admission in colleges.”

She added: “It will not be tolerated if someone is asking for money for personal interest in the lieu of admission. The state government will take stern action against such irregularities.”

The Chief Minister also maintained: “I actively participated in students’ politics and this is the college (Ashutosh College) where I spent seven to eight years doing students’ politics. Our duty was to help students to get admission. So my appeal to all students’ unions and college authorities is to ensure that students get admission on the basis of merit to continue with their studies and money should not be the factor here.”

Primary Agri Cooperative Societies to be upgraded by Bengal Govt

Posted on June 28, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The around 2,600 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), which are the main deposit mobilising institutions in rural areas, are being upgraded by the State Government by computerising them and connecting them to core banking solution of cooperative banks.

This is meant to further extend banking service to the rural populace in the State, to places which lack proper banks. Thus a PACS would become a customer service point for banking facilities.

The work to upgrade 1,133 PACS to banks has already been initiated. The target for completing the upgrading of all the PACS has been set as the end of financial year 2019-20. Upgrading all PACS would ensure that people in every part of the State can avail banking facilities.

The State Level Monitoring Committee for Cooperative Sector, a high-powered committee set up last January to look into the matter of extending banking facilities to more rural areas, has suggested the above as well as a series of other measures to improve the cooperative sector, which have been accepted by the Bengal Government.

It has recommended that district and state cooperative banks open bank branches in the gram panchayats with no banking facilities. Steps have already been taken to install micro-ATMs in all the PACSs.

The panel has proposed the establishment of 2,000 farm machinery hubs through the best-performing PACS. This has also been accepted by the Government. During 2018-19, 1,000 such hubs will be established; the remaining will be taken up during the 2019-20 fiscal.

Citing the current practice of giving interest subsidy to farmers for short-term crop loans from cooperatives, the committee has suggested that the same facility should be provided for long-term loans as well.

The State Government has also decided to give ad hoc grant to all employees of cooperatives and the amount of the grant is to be raised from Rs 1,000 per to Rs 2,000 per month.

The cooperative employees will also be brought under the Swasthya Sathi scheme of the State Government.

The State Government has also taken necessary steps so that the audit of all cooperative bodies is carried out and corrective measures, if needed, are taken immediately.

Source: Millennium Post

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 provide year-round training to farmers

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

The State Agriculture Department has initiated steps to ensure round-the-year training programmes for farmers at Mati Tirtha, located in the district of Purba Bardhaman.

The requirement for year-round training was felt to ensure that farmers keep getting regular updates on agricultural activities, including on the latest techniques, and are able to implement the same.

A team of senior officials from the Agriculture Department had visited Mati Tirtha on June 13 and prepared a detailed report on the sort of infrastructure required for round-the-year training of farmers.

Mati Tirtha is the permanent venue of Mati Utsav that takes place in January every year where, among other activities, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee felicitates successful farmers from different parts of the State.

Source: Millennium Post