State hands over land to set up research centre in Jyoti Basu's name

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has given the possession of a plot of land to Left Front for setting up a research centre in the name of former chief minister and party veteran Jyoti Basu.

"We have handed over the possession letter to CPI-M state secretariat member Rabin Deb on Wednesday. The Cabinet approval for the same has already been received.

I have asked Deb to inform us when they submit their building plan to Newtown

Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) so that the process can be fast tracked ," said Firhad Hakim, state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister in Nabanna on Thursday.

He reiterated that no additional money was taken from the party while handing over the possession letter.

The proposed centre is scheduled to have digitised information on Basu, besides housing an auditorium, a conference room, a seminar room, a library and guest rooms.

The erstwhile Left Front government was allotted a five-acre plot of land in 2010 to build the Jyoti Basu Centre for Social Studies and Research in Rajarhat-Newtown with the party planning to launch the centre on Basu''s centenary in 2014.

However, the deal delayed with the Trinamool Congress government assuming power in 2011.

The Left Front delegation had called upon both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

who asked Firhad Hakim to expedite the matter.