Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee instructed the Hooghly district administration to ensure that the beneficiaries under various schemes are not harassed. She was addressing the administrative review meeting of the district at Goghat on Tuesday afternoon.
Banerjee said she had received many complaints made by the beneficiaries of various schemes, stating that they were being harassed by the administration. "The state government has made schemes for each and every person. It is unfortunate if the people fail to get the benefits because of some officials. I ask the Block Development Officers (BDOs) to launch special drives to ensure that no beneficiaries are left out. We have prepared the schemes despite economic hardship. We have to pay Rs 53,000 crore to repay the loan taken by the erstwhile Left Front government. It is really shocking if the people do not get the benefits of the schemes," she said.
The Chief Minister also asked for intense vigil in the ghats along river Hooghly. "Criminals from Bhatpara and Naihati in North 24-Parganas cross the river and take shelter in Hooghly. So vigil at the ghats should be beefed up," she said and instructed the police to take every possible step to defuse communal tension. "There are some pockets in Hooghly district which are very sensitive. Try to win the confidence of the local people and defuse communal tension," Banerjee added.
Senior police officers of Hooghly district said that the law and order situation has improved because of continuous drives against the goons. The officers said there are two to three pockets in the district where spurious liquor is being sold and raids are being conducted along with officials of the Excise department.
Banerjee said the problem can be ironed out if the people engaged in selling spurious liquor are brought to mainstream life. "We have provisions for rehabilitation and the police should explore this opportunity to bring these people to mainstream life," she said.
Meanwhile, Banerjee asked the Tourism department to expedite construction work at Mahesh and Furfura Sharif, where the state government has made plans worth crores of rupees to develop the areas as centres of religious tourism.
She asked the administration to terminate the contractor at Mahesh for not doing the work properly. The estimated cost of the development of Mahesh is Rs 7.5 crore, while that of Furfura Sharif is Rs 5.5 crore.
Senior officials informed the gathering that the construction of infrastructure at Sabuj Dwip is underway, which is coming up as a major tourist spot in Hooghly district. Banerjee inaugurated a slew of projects as well and laid the foundation stones of a few more.