Cooch Behar/Darjeeling: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee exhorted the district administration and the concerned departments to speed up the process of handing over land rights documents to the enclave dwellers. She even stated that if necessary, an Ordinance would be issued regarding the same.
The Chief Minister inaugurated "Utsav," a newly constructed auditorium at a cost of Rs 14 crore in Cooch Behar. This was followed by an administrative meeting held at the same venue.
"Land rights documents have to be handed over to enclave dwellers. The process has to be hastened," she stated. When informed that there were a few legal complications to this, the Chief Minister maintained: "We have to issue an Ordinance if required and later the laws can be amended. The process should be initiated within a week."
Incidentally, a Land Bill Agreement had been signed between India and Bangladesh in 2015 which had resulted in 111 Indian enclaves with a land territory of 17,160 acres being transferred to Bangladesh and 51 enclaves from Bangladesh with a land territory of 7,110 acres being handed over to India. The largest enclave transferred to India is Poaturkuthi with 3,037 residents located in Cooch Behar district.
The business community of Cooch Behar proposed that an industrial park should come up in Cooch Behar for which they have identified the land already. Banerjee asked them to submit the details of the plot and the project to the District Magistrate who would eventually take it up with the MSME department.
Based on complaints by businessmen of the dilapidated state of the buildings housing the Bhabanigunj market, the Chief Minister asked the Municipality and district administration to sit in a meeting with the traders operating from the market, find them temporary spaces to operate from, rebuild the market and then shift them back.
Regarding the complaint of the airport in Cooch Behar not being operational, she stated that the state had completed its task of allocating land and building the airport. "Now, it's the job of the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the Union government to make it operational. They will have to look for companies who will operate flights from here. However, we will take up the matter with the Civil Aviation ministry," assured Banerjee.
However, the Chief Minister was not happy with the implementation of Safe Drive Save Life programme in the district. She also chided the WBSEDCL for Rs 150 crore worth pending electricity bills in the region.
"The amount will not be written off by the state and it will have to be paid. If it cannot be paid by the consumers at one go, they will have to pay the amount in installments," stated the Chief Minister. Banerjee also expressed her concern over regular clashes taking place in Dinhata. "Take strict action. Do not allow Netagiri," was Banerjee's message to the police.
The Chief Minister also asked the district administration to ensure that the public and especially entrepreneurs do not fall prey to red-tapism.