Mamata Banerjee and mayor Sovan Chatterjee during the interaction with Puja organisers on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday had a double bonanza for Puja organisers: a 10 per cent discount on CESC bills and a single-window system for all formalities required to seek permission to hold a Durga Puja.

At an interaction with around 2,500 Puja organisers at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Mamata’s decision to reduce the CESC fees was met with thunderous applause.

“The state’s finances is in a bad shape and the previous government has left us in a tight spot. Even then, we have decided that CESC will offer a discount of 10 per cent on the fees collected from Puja committees,” Mamata said. “I would also ask CMDA to charge 10 per cent less on the land rent to puja committees who use CMDA land for erecting pandals.”

The chief minister also declared the single-window system for all formalities that a Puja organiser has to take care of before getting permission to hold a Puja.

“I know the harassment organisers have to face. They have to go around circles, visiting the police, the fire department and CESC. A single-window system has to be in place. And it will happen from this year,” Mamata said. “Since this is the first time, there might be mistakes. But all of you should co-operate. Bhul holey jhogra korben na kintu (Don’t fight if there are mistakes).”

The crowd screamed “Na, na” before breaking into applause.

The chief minister also reminded the organisers about their responsibilities. “All of you would have to co-operate with the police and abide by the law on pandals,” she said.

The high court has specified the space each pandal has to keep free and the permissible height of the structure.

The chief minister had done all the necessary homework before turning up for the evening’s interaction, where she came with a battery of her cabinet ministers, including Subrata Mukherjee, Firhad Hakim, Javed Khan and Manish Gupta, and mayor Sovan Chatterjee and Union minister Mukul Roy.

But she decided to first hear out the audience. Pratap Ganguly of Sinthee Youth Athletic Club decided to vent the combined frustration when Mamata asked representatives to speak up.

“Didi, CESC claims that the government takes a surcharge of 10 per cent from the Puja electricity bills and as a result we have to end up paying a huge amount. Can the government look into this please?” Ganguly said. Everyone applauded. The tone for the evening was set.

At the end of the interaction, Ganguly was beaming. “I knew she would respond. I am very happy and so are other organisers like me,” he said.

“This evening has proved that the chief minister has no dearth of sincerity,” said Arunava Mitra of Nabamilan, Beleghata. “For us, the single-window system will be invaluable.”

Rajesh Jaiswal of Maniktala Chaltabagan Lohapatty Puja agreed. “All Puja organisers have offices to attend and businesses to mind. Running around to secure permission from four different offices takes up a lot of time. It would be a great relief if all forms are distributed from and are to be submitted in a single place,” he said.