Alipurduar/KOLKATA: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced “Medhashree Scholarship” for students from the backward classes and minority communities. She also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of a slew of projects to benefit people of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar.
She inaugurated 67 projects worth Rs 260.64 crore and laid the foundation stone of 91 projects involving Rs 354.77 crore from a government programme held at Subhasini Tea Garden in Alipurduar.
“It is not possible to distribute all the services from one stage. But I assure everyone that we will provide the cheques to over 50,000 beneficiaries today itself. In the coming seven days, every service under ‘Duare Sarkar’ scheme must be disbursed,” she said.
“Within January 27, the beneficiaries in all three districts of North Bengal must receive our services. I have directed the district magistrates to facilitate this,” she added.
Speaking about the houses under ‘Cha Sundari’ scheme she said: “In total, there will be 3,000 houses under the scheme. 1,117 houses have already been completed and have been allotted. The remaining will be completed and allotted in the coming 2-3 months,” she said.
“We will soon provide a ‘Card’ for all the tea garden workers. They can use it to avail all our government welfare schemes easily,” she added.
With regards to the ‘land deed’ issue being faced by tea garden workers, she asked the Chief Secretary to resume some of the land from the tea garden and allot the pattas to the workers. “If everyone agrees to this, we will initiate the programme soon,” she said.
Banerjee added that the state government will build 113 creches. “Women workers will be able to keep their child at these creches, while they work in the tea garden. Today (Thursday), we have finalised 24 creches in the first phase. The remaining will be done in the coming days,” she remarked.
Among the major projects inaugurated are Alipurduar Polytechnic College with an investment of Rs 21 crore, the integrated high school at Joygaon with an expenditure of Rs 14 crore and Joygaon stadium at cost of Rs 3 crore.
She said that the state is building 43 new health centres here. In the first phase, 10 health centres have been finalised.
Banerjee said that in Alipruduar, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar over 3.4 lakh, 4.78 lakh and 6.37 lakh, respectively have received Lakshmir Bhandar. Krishak Bandhu scheme benefitted over 91 lakh people across the state. In Jalpaiguri, 89,000, in Cooch Behar, 3.71 lakh while in Alipirduar 83,000 have availed benefits under the scheme.
The Sabooj Sathi scheme benefitted nearly 10 lakh people in the three districts, Swasthya Sathi scheme benefited over 17 lakh while over 66 lakh have benefited from Khadya Sathi.
Schemes like caste certificates, Student Credit Card, Kanyashree, Rupashree, Joy Johar have also been very successful in the districts.
“Opposition parties claim that people of North Bengal don’t receive any of the government services. But let me tell you, they only make baseless comments, spread hate and politicize everything,” Banerjee said.