Kolkata: Ministers on Wednesday lauded the Mamata Banrjee government for assisting infirm people and self-help groups despite acute financial crunch.
Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said that the state government has to pay Rs 40,000 crore as interest to the Centre, to clear the loan burden. The loan was taken by the erstwhile CPI-M government. "But despite that the schemes to provide assistance to people from different walks of life have not be withdrawn," the minister said.
She was addressing a gathering organised by Panihati Municipality on Wednesday afternoon. The municipality has been organising functions from May 11 to hand over the financial assistance to the beneficiaries. Sadhan Pandey, state minister for Consumer Affairs, Sougata Roy, MP, Nirmal Ghosh, local MLA and Antara Acharya, district magistrate, North 24-Parganas, attended the function.