Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said that Bengal had received over ₹42,000 crore in central assistance within three weeks of the formation of his government and urged Union housing and urban affairs and power minister Manohar Lal Khattar to help rebuild the state in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.
“I want to assure the people of the state that we will work jointly with every department of the Union government. The benefits of the double-engine government that people in 20 states of India are receiving have now begun reaching our state as well,” Suvendu said in the presence of Khatta here.
“With the assistance of Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar ji, we will undertake every possible initiative for the benefit of the people in the fields of urban development and the power sector,” he added.
Khattar and Suvendu were at an event where they jointly launched the Swachha mobile application.
Launched as a pilot project in eight municipalities and Asansol and Durgapur municipal corporations, the app will be people-driven and help residents get garbage cleared from their areas within two hours by simply uploading a photograph of the site.
State urban development minister Agnimitra Paul hosted the event.
The eight municipalities are Basirhat and Madhyamgram in North 24-Parganas; Pujali in South 24-Parganas; Tufanganj in Cooch Behar; Contai in East Midnapore; Krishnanagar in Nadia; Nalhati in Birbhum; and Baidyabati in Hooghly.
“Over the past three weeks, we have virtually signed agreements worth ₹39,000 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission with Union minister C.R. Patil ji. We have also signed agreements with Union health minister J.P. Nadda ji regarding the National Health Mission and Ayushman Bharat. Under these two projects, the health ministry has sanctioned ₹2,193 crore under the NHM and ₹776 crore under the Ayushman Bharat scheme,” said the chief minister, highlighting how the double-engine government has been working for the welfare of Bengal.
Suvendu held discussions for nearly one and a half hours with Khattar on how the Centre and the state could work together on urban development and power infrastructure.
“He spoke about how Bengal can stand on its own feet. Our Prime Minister has also said that the level of development Bengal deserved did not take place in the past,” Suvendu said in his address to the gathering at the launch of the app.
He requested the Union minister to allocate funds from the new Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) under his ministry for all small and medium municipalities in Bengal.
The UCF is a ₹1 lakh crore initiative of the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs. It seeks to shift urban development from traditional government grants to a competitive, market-driven model.
Suvendu said that after he took the oath as chief minister on May 9, Khatar was the first to call him and assure him of full assistance.
“He called me and said that the Prime Minister had directed that Bengal must now be rebuilt,” he said.
Suvendu directed the urban development department to prepare detailed project reports for setting up metro services in urban areas with populations of 25–30 lakh.
“We have a lot of work to do in the power sector. Half of Bengal’s population is poor, and many people receive high electricity bills. We also have large hilly and adivasi-dominated regions. We need to work on the Prime Minister Surya Ghar Yojana in these areas. A team from our state will visit Delhi regarding this matter and hold meetings with the Union minister and his officials. We want to work together,” he said.
Khattar said that he was saddened that many initiatives and schemes implemented in other parts of India could not be carried out in Bengal in the past 10-12 years.
“I don’t need to explain the reason behind the backlog, as you all know it. Whatever shortcomings remain, we will complete the pending work in the shortest possible time by working together with the Bengal government and Suvendu ji,” he said.
DVC
The chief minister said that the previous Trinamool Congress government had repeatedly blamed the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for floods, but his government was working jointly with the central agency to address issues during the monsoon season.
Though Suvendu did not name Mamata Banerjee, she had repeatedly accused the DVC of not informing the state government before releasing water from its dams, which, according to her, led to flooding in districts such as Hooghly, Howrah and East Burdwan.
“DVC officials are present here as well. The days when the previous government used to blame the DVC are over. Before the monsoon, DVC and our government are working together,” said Suvendu.