Kolkata: Partha Bhowmick who was the state Irrigation and Waterways minister and resigned as an MLA after winning Lok Sabha elections from Barrackpore will continue to work for the interest of the people in western districts of Bengal so that the ‘Ghatal Master Plan’ is implemented fast without any technical hiccups.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has given utmost priority on the implementation of ‘Ghatal Master Plan’ will soon hold a meeting with Bhowmick and Deepak Adhikari (Dev) who has been re-elected from Ghatal Lok Sabha Constituency.
Bhowmick was given the charge of the Irrigation minister by the Chief Minister and the responsibility was also given to him for the implementation of Ghatal master plan. Bhowmick has won from Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat.
As he was responsible for handling the Ghatal master plan, Bhowmick may continue as the Irrigation minister for the next couple of months as the Constitution allows a person to remain as a minister without winning an election in the state Assembly for 6 months. Bhowmick may therefore not be removed as a minister as he was instrumental behind the implementation of ‘Ghatal Master Plan’. The Chief Minister had promised Dev that the state government would implement it on its own. “The Centre is not helping, but Didi (Mamata) had promised that the state government itself will implement the Ghatal Master Plan now,” Dev had said earlier.
The survey for implementation of the master plan has already been started. The project will be completed in 3-4 years, as per the assurance of the CM. The Ghatal Master Plan is a mega project envisaged back in 1959 to save the low-lying areas in and around Ghatal, located at the base of the Chota Nagpur Plateau, from the annual flood.
A year after the Trinamool Congress came to power, the state government in 2012 sent a detailed project report, estimating a total cost of nearly Rs 1200 crore, to the Centre.
The BJP-led Union government later changed the funding ratio between the Centre and the state government from 75 per cent-25 per cent to 50 per cent-50 per cent. But, with no funds being allocated, the project could not take off yet.