Siliguri: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, at an administrative review meeting in Uttarkanya, Siliguri on Wednesday, issued firm directives to officials. With the monsoon approaching, she stressed the urgent completion of pending infrastructure works, including road repairs, and warned against corruption and negligence.
“All pending works, including road renovation and construction, must be completed before the monsoon. Public money should not be wasted. Do not allow trucks on village roads in exchange for bribes. Services must be delivered to people without delay,” she told the officials.
District Magistrates from all eight North Bengal districts, along with Superintendents of Police, the Police Commissioner, Chief Medical Officers of Health, and other key officials, were present during the meeting. Officials from Malda, South & North Dinajpur and Kalimpong joined virtually.
During the session, Banerjee reviewed the progress of development projects and instructed that all Disaster Management units be fully operational. She noted that out of 3,869 sanctioned projects across North Bengal, 3,183 have been completed, leaving 592 pending, most from Malda under the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department. “If pipelines are placed, it’s your responsibility to ensure water is lifted from them,” she said.
Calling for tighter surveillance, the Chief Minister instructed increased inspections in Malda and Cooch Behar and ordered vigilance against illegal activities. She also asked the Director General of Police to take immediate action against heavy vehicles plying on village roads. The Chief Minister urged all district administrations to raise awareness about the Bangla Sahayata Kendras and ensure signage in local languages.
She also promoted the generation of more jobs through job cards in the state’s rural employment programs.
According to Banerjee, 42.93 lakh people received job cards in 2024-25, with Rs 8,334 crore already spent. “We aim to increase this further. Youths must be employed,” she added.
Highlighting rural infrastructure development, Banerjee said that over 1.46 lakh km of village roads have been constructed in the past 14 years.
An additional 38,294 km have been built under the Pathasree project, with over 1,000 km still under construction, which she instructed to be completed before the rains.
Banerjee also instructed Chief Medical Officers to conduct surprise inspections at government hospitals to ensure no banned, expired or spurious medicines are in use.
The Chief Minister then pulled up the Union government for having failed to release Rs 1.64 crore for Malda’s River Erosion Prevention Project. “Despite this, we restarted the project with Rs 466 crore, and an additional Rs. 225 crore has been allocated,” she said.
She also proposed building shopping malls in every district, with two floors reserved for Self Help Group women, and asked that these projects be finalized and initiated promptly. Banerjee concluded by instructing municipalities and the Municipal Corporation not to increase taxes or mutation fees, keeping public interest at the forefront.