May 29: The Bengal cabinet today approved the formation of a development board for the Rajbangshi people, a decision that is seen as an attempt by Mamata Banerjee to checkmate the growth of the BJP in Cooch Behar and other areas dominated by the community.

The West Bengal Rajbanshi Development & Welfare Board is the first of its kind for a community living in the plains of the state. Earlier, the Mamata dispensation had created 15 development boards for different communities in the Darjeeling hills.

"Today, we took the decision to form the (Rajbangshi) board," the chief minister said at Nabanna this afternoon.

During her trip to Cooch Behar last month, Mamata had announced that a development council would be constituted for the Rajbangshis and members of the Cooch Behar royal family would be included in it.

Mamata's move, political observers said, is an attempt to thwart the rise of the BJP.

"In some of the Rajbangshi-dominated areas of north Bengal, particularly in Cooch Behar district, the BJP is fast consolidating its base. This has become evident after the party finished second in the by-poll to Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat in November," an observer said.

In Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts, the Rajbangshis form almost half of the population.

There is also a large number of Rajbangshis in Jalpaiguri district, Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district and in some areas of Malda, North and South Dinajpurs.

While the Rajbangshi Kshatriya Samiti celebrated the cabinet decision to form the board in Jalpaiguri and the Cooch Behar royal family welcomed it, the Kamtapur Peoples' Party (United) sounded dissatisfied.

"We are not happy with it. The state should have changed the name to Kamtapuri. Of the two-crore people in Kamtapuri in north Bengal, around one-fourth belong to sub-castes and tribes, who are not counted as Rajbangshis. If the name had been different, these people, including backward minorities, could have availed themselves of facilities from the board," Nikhil Roy, the president of the KPP (United), said.

The chief minister today also said her government would hold four cabinet meetings outside Calcutta in a year - two each in the hills and Jungle Mahal - and the first such session would be held in Darjeeling on June 8.

Senior government officials could not recall whether cabinet meetings were held outside Calcutta in recent past.

A source in the chief minister's office said the decision was a tactical move. "The two regions are considered to be most underdeveloped in the state. If cabinet meetings are held there, it would send a message to the local population," said the source.

Mamata also said her government would ensure that tourists visiting the hills would not face much trouble (with regard to accommodation) because of the cabinet meeting in Darjeeling.

"We will ask majority of the ministers and officers to stay in Siliguri. Only five to six senior ministers will stay at Raj Bhavan in Darjeeling and the women ministers will stay in Kurseong," she said.

Another decision taken at the cabinet today was the creation of the Changrabandha Development Authority. After the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority and Jaigaon Development Authority, this would be the third such agency in north Bengal.

Changrabandha is a land port and transit point in Cooch Behar district and on the India-Bangladesh border.