State public health engineering minister Pulak Roy in the Assembly said that drinking water has been ensured to 70 lakh people in village areas under ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’.
In reply to a question of a BJP MLA on the floor of the House, Roy said that the Bengal government provides the benefits of all the schemes to the people of Bengal irrespective of their party affiliation. He also reminded that his department has already managed to secure drinking water to 70 lakh people across the state mainly in the rural belts.
In another development, state Agriculture minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in the Assembly said that the Centre is not providing funds for fertilisers which they are supposed to give to the state government.
In reply to BJP MLA Ashoke Lahiri’s allegation that black marketing is taking place, Chattopadhyay told the House that his department has already identified those who are involved in malpractices and action has been taken against them. Licenses have been cancelled in many cases. The state Agriculture department is taking stringent action on the black marketeers of fertilisers as their licenses are being cancelled by the department.
State Agriculture minister Chattopadhyay had earlier said that his department had identified those who had indulged in black marketing of fertilisers and a list had been
prepared. Officers were sent to the districts where they settled the grievances of the complainants.
Earlier this year, the department had stopped the sale of fertiliser in the case of 65 shops and cancelled the licenses of 11.
About 1,386 had been served show cause notices and 1,299 had been warned against charging higher than the earmarked price from the farmers.
Meanwhile, BJP MLAs on Wednesday demanded an adjournment motion in the Assembly in connection to their demand of immediate opening of closed tea gardens in North Bengal. As the Speaker did not allow the MLAs to discuss their adjournment motion proposal, the BJP MLAs shouted slogans inside the Assembly and later walked out.