Bardhaman (WB): West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee today announced a slew of projects, including
a housing scheme for five lakh people and a mega Rs 3,000-
crore road, for the development of rural Bengal.
Five lakh people of the state would get houses under the
the state government's "Bangla Gramin Abas Yojna" on January
29, she said, adding that another three lakh had received
assistance for building houses under the "Geetanjali" scheme.
The chief minister said this after inaugurating the "Mati
Utsav" (soil festival) here to promote the farm sector.
The panchayat polls are scheduled to be held in the state
around mid-year.
Banerjee also announced a Rs 3,000-crore north-south
corridor project which will pass through Bardhaman district,
and a Rs 2,768-crore project to extend the reach of the
irrigation facilities to the western districts of the state.
"The farmers are our assets. We have paid a compensation
of Rs 1,200 crore to those farmers affected by floods. Around
79 lakh Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) have also been
distributed...the banks have been asked to give more loans
against these KCCs," she said.
In the past too, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government
had returned forcibly acquired land to the farmers, Banerjee
said, hinting at the Singur land acquisition issue.
Ten camps and 186 "kisan bazaars" were set up by her
government for paddy procurement in the state, she added.
The state government had also paid Rs 626 crore as
insurance premium for 21 lakh hectares of land, the chief
minister said, adding that a textile hub would be coming up at
Saktigarh in the district soon and that the work on an NTPC
power plant was underway at Katwa.
"Bengal will always hold its head high and will not bow
down to anyone," the TMC supremo said, in an apparent
reference to the BJP, which is in power at the Centre.
She also directed the state police to reward those
teenage girls, who had taken initiatives to stop child
marriages in their respective areas.
PTI
