State urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim on Thursday alleged that the Centre’s “apathy” remained one of the key obstacles to Bengal’s development.

However, Hakim, who is currently in Siliguri, praised the Trinamool-led civic board here. He said that despite financial constraints, the civic board here has carried out significant development work, helping Siliguri to emerge as a “model city.”

“We have been deprived by the central government, as nearly ₹2 lakh crore is outstanding from the Centre. If we had received those funds, they could have been utilised for Siliguri as well as other parts of the state,” said Hakim as he paid his first visit to the newly constructed platinum jubilee building of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC).

Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb showed the new building to Hakim. A short documentary was also screened at the conference hall, highlighting the achievements and development initiatives undertaken by the civic board over the past four years under Deb’s leadership.

Hakim also criticised the Centre’s current policy framework, drawing a comparison with the earlier Planning Commission system.

“Earlier, development works were carried out jointly by the Centre and the states through the Planning Commission. States would place their plans before the commission, discussions would follow and funds would be allocated with the state’s share. But now a new policy under NITI Aayog has been adopted. Nobody knows how it functions, yet the allocation of the state’s funds has stopped,” he alleged.

Addressing representatives of the civic body, he praised the civic board and its councillors for their collective efforts in improving civic services across Siliguri. At the same time, he urged them to remain restrained and avoid involvement in any form of intolerance or religious bias.

“We all should work together for the development of Siliguri, while upholding the spirit of peace and amity,” said Hakim.

SJDA meeting plan

During his Siliguri visit, state minister Firhad Hakim addressed issues concerning the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) and directed its chairman, Dilip Dugar, to convene a board meeting at the earliest. “I have asked the chairman of SJDA to call a board meeting and discuss its planning,” the minister said.

Though the new chairman of SJDA was appointed around five months ago, no board meeting has been held since his appointment.