No cut in welfare programmes despite note ban: CM

The earning of state government has gone down by 25 per cent due to demonetisation but despite that it did not curtail any pro-people project, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday.

She was addressing a gathering to celebrate Khadya Sathi Divas and Police Investiture Ceremony on Red Road on Friday afternoon.

"Demonetisation has affected Bengal's revenue badly which has fallen by 25 per cent. But despite that we are carrying on with the pro-people projects. We believe that more pro-people projects are required to give relief to people," the Chief Minister said.

Banerjee said because of the financial mismanagement of the erstwhile CPI(M) government, her government had to give Rs 40,000 to repay the loans.

"We have to repay money for their inefficiency and wrong doings. Had this money been saved, we could have done more good to people," she maintained.

Banerjee said many of the projects taken up by the state government like Khadya Sathi and Kanyasree had acclaimed world recognition.

Under Khadyasathi Project, over eight crore people had been given rice at Rs 2 per kg.

"Poor people have been immensely benefitted by the project and almost 90 per cent of economically challenged people have been benefitted by some project or the other taken up by the state government. We feel greatly satisfied for doing something for the poor and the needy.

She said a corpus of Rs 200 crore had been created to help poor and meritorious students to pursue higher education.

"Under the scheme SC and ST students can even go abroad for higher studies. We are giving school books and cycles to the students and want to provide best infrastructure to them so that they become best in the world. We will continue to help them through Kanyasree, Sikshashree and Sabuj Sathi," she maintained.

She appreciated Sukanyashree where girls have been training on self defence. "This project will have to be taken to the villages and should be clubbed with Kanyashree, she said.

She said because of various projects taken up by the state government, child mortality rate had gone down in the state.

The success in institutional delivery is a major achievement and nearly 90 per cent babies are born in hospitals and health centres. "This will provide safety to the mothers and newborns. There are still remote areas where delivery is done with the help of midwives. The state government is planning to make schemes to provide the facility of institutional delivery to them," she said.

The super specialty hospitals set up by the state government have immensely benefitted people. "In government hospitals, treatment is free and this does not happen anywhere in the country," she said.

Banerjee appreciated the ball control demonstrated by some youth at the parade. "They are our real talents and we should give them all facilities."

She handed over keys to the beneficiaries for their respective homes under Gitanjali scheme of Housing department Sabar mathar Upore Chad, through this initiative Housing Department has set up 2,51 lakh houses under the Gitanjali Scheme.