CM urges Hakim to look into handover of land for setting up research body in Jyoti Basu's name

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday directed state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim to carry out joint inspection of a land at New Town and take steps to ensure handover of the same for setting up a research foundation in the name of former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu.

The Left Front wants to lay the foundation stone of the same on July 8, which is celebrated as the birthday of the party veteran who died on January 17, 2010.

Left Front leader Rabin Deb along with party leaders Sujan Chakraborty and Ashok Bhattacharjee met Banerjee at her chamber in the state Assembly and sought her intervention in the case.

The Left leadership alleged that the transfer of land for the project has not happened since 2011, when the erstwhile Left government had procured the land against a payment of Rs 4 crore. "We have been told time and again that there are litigations involved and the transfer has not been effected as yet," Deb alleged.

According to sources, Banerjee instructed Hakim to make a joint inspection of the land and take necessary measures in this regard for handover of the same. The Left is ready to sacrifice the amount of land which comes under the ambit of litigation. It has been learnt that the West Bengal Housing & Infrastructure Development Corp had agreed to give them the same amount of land at a place a few kilometers away from that particular site, but the Left leadership is not ready to accept the offer.