KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and actor Dev visited flood-hit areas of his Ghatal Constituency on Wednesday and said that a revised blueprint of the long-awaited Ghatal Master Plan is being drawn up to reduce land requirement by 40 per cent.
He chaired a high-level meeting at the SDO office with the District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police, Health Secretary and other senior officials to review the project’s progress.
Dev said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already earmarked Rs 500 crore in the state Budget for the Ghatal Master Plan and the work will be completed within three years of commencement. “We’re working on a new plan that cuts down land requirements by 40 per cent.
This is a complex and ambitious project,” he said.
The actor, who is gearing up for the release of his much-awaited Bengali film ‘Dhumketu’ on August 14, also said that the process of land acquisition in Ghatal will begin soon and different departments are already coordinating to speed up the process.
“The biggest hurdle is land acquisition, so we’re trying to use as little land as possible. This project isn’t for the government… it’s for the people of Ghatal,” he said. Monsoon floods have become an annual nightmare for Ghatal. Dev admitted the recurring crisis but assured that the Master Plan is no longer stuck in paperwork. “Several sluice gates are being repaired and many are already done. The first phase will wrap up by this month. Since June 19, people have been forced to live in water. We had 60 per cent more rain this time and DVC released excess water. The state government is doing everything it can… community kitchens, medicines for snake bites, restoring power,” said Dev, who also visited Shyamsundarpur and distributed relief materials. A few days ago, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh took a swipe at Dev, saying he hasn’t fulfilled the promise of the Master Plan. Responding calmly, Dev said: “He is a senior politician. I respect him.
I don’t have his contact, but I’ll reach out. I want to know from him what more I can do for the people of Ghatal.”