November 27, 2013
CM visits North Dinajpur, takes stock of progress of govt projects
The state Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with administrative officials of North Dinajpur district in the premises of the office of the District Magistrate at Karnajora, Raiganj last evening.
The CM reached Karnajora at around 6.45 PM. She then held a meeting with the administrative officials. The District Magistrate, Additional District Magistrates, SDOs , BDOs and district health officials attended this meeting.
The Chief Minister in this meeting reviewed the progress of all government projects and instructed all district level officials and BDOs to bring force to their work.
The minister of North Bengal development department Mr Gautam Deb, the state library and mass education minister Mr Abdul Karim Chaudhury, the state Chief Secretary and some other secretaries of the state government were present along with the CM.
She held another public meeting arranged by the district administration at 12 noon today at Karanajora where she inaugurated some government projects and laid the foundation stone of the new developmental projects of the district.
Excerpts from Chief Minister`s speech:
I thank you all for braving the weather and coming here to listen to me. I wish you all the best. The district of North Dinajpur has been lying neglected for a long time. Those who were at helm of affairs in this state have neglected the development of the people. I firmly believe that development and people`s interest comes first and politics later. We are ready to work with everyone, irrespective of differences, for people`s benefit
We have brought the entire Government from Kolkata to you. All the departmental heads are here for you. I do not believe in governance behind closed doors. I like to work on the field. That is why I take up district tours. One cannot take stock of the ground situation, sitting in air conditioned offices in the State Capital. One has to come to North Bengal to see the pathetic condition of the roads. I have written to the Central government time and again to repair them. We are ready to do the repair work, if Centre provides us with funds.
This year we experienced massive rainfall creating shortage of vegetables. The price of fertilizers has sky-rocketed. In the past usage of jute sacs were mandatory, now these are used in lesser quantities. We have taken up the matter with the Central Government. Jute is a major crop here. Nobody has ever thought of the jute cultivators. WB Government is forming a special Plan of Action for jute cultivators.
There is a Spinning Mill near Raiganj. We are planning to save this mill. We are forming a Group-of-Ministers Committee to chalk out a plan of action to revive this Mill. We are also planning the same ofr other jute industries. We will contact National Fibre Mission for producing jute silk. We will do the work in our fullest capacity.
Everybody who has job cards should take part in the 100 day work. Those who do not have job cards, get it done. If you complete 100 days work, we will provide 200 days work. Already a lot of time has been wasted. We have to speed-up our pace of work now. There should be no delay in clearing files by officials. Public services should be offered in a time bound manner. Why should govt officials sit over files? This is unacceptable.
The previous Government has left us with a huge debt to repay. We hardly have money left for carrying out development work. We have increased our revenue collection manifold but Centre is taking a major part away in the form of interest. Why should we be blamed? How will we carry on developmental works? The Centre should stop this. We have appealed to the Finance Commission, Planning Commission, and the Prime Minister. Despite all hardships, we work from day till night to make Bengal the No.1 state. Everybody who comes here praises our state.
We have made a Land Bank within two and half years. We do not grab land from farmers. We do not make false promises. We are working on providing arsenic free drinking water to the people of the district. 15 Primary Health centres, 21 small health centres have been completed. People have received facility of Geetanjali Housing. We have made bamboo and jute clusters here in cooperation with National Fibre Mission. Mustard Oil clusters are being set up in Kaliaganj. Handloom clusters are being set up in Malgaon. There will be ITIs in every block and Polytechnics in every sub division. Work has begun for building Polytechnic Colleges at Islampur and Itahar.
Model Schools, degree Colleges are being set up in the district. Raiganj and Islampur will soon get multi super specialty hospitals. Raiganj Hospital now has a Fair Price Medicine shop. Another one is coming up at Kaliaganj State General Hospital. 23 water supply projects have been taken up to serve 3.5 lakh people. Rice godowns are being set up at Itahar and Islampur. Bridges are being made at different parts of the district. Raiganj will have a campus of North Bengal University soon.
We have made the process of enlisting people in BPL category more transparent and politics-free. I urge you all not to marry girls off at a tender age. Let them study. Let them avail the benefits of Kanyashree scheme. Do not waste the future of your girl child. Let them be health conscious. Give Polio vaccines to you children. We are also working on home sanitation too. If you are dissatisfied with the work of your Panchayat, lodge a complaint at the BDO office. To make banking services accessible to people, we have taken a new initiative of setting up bank branches in rural areas.
We have created employment banks. We have also started an unemployment allowance worth Rs 1500. Avail the Yuvashree scheme. We are giving financial assistance to folk artistes. We are working tirelessly for the people.
We have implemented Sachar committee recommendations. We have reserved seats for backward classes in higher education. We have implemented reservation for minorities, OBCs, STs and SCs. We have raised the age limits for applying for Government jobs. But the reservation is not at the cost of general category. We have increased the seat capacity to accommodate the reserved candidates. Hindus and Muslims do not cause riots. It is done by some people with vested interests. Steer clear of them.
We have turned Bengal around in two and half years. Unlike our predecessors we do not neglect North Bengal. We will inaugurate the Mini Secretariat in North Bengal on January 20, 2014. Wish you all the best; work hard and help build a new Bengal.
