Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has directed all departments to earmark land for any project before submitting the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in order to get quick clearance from the Finance department, official sources confirmed on Wednesday.
From now on, proposals of new projects would require a "clearance" from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) before it is moved to the Finance department for the final approval, the source said.
The direction came from the CMO after it surfaced
that several departments, primarily the Public Works Department (PWD), are submitting proposals for projects without earmarking any land, thereby delaying the entire process.
"There are departments that are submitting proposals without making any groundwork. That is the reason why even after the clearance of the Finance department, several projects are not getting implemented because of land problems," a senior official at the state Secretariat said on Wednesday.
Incidentally, the Chief Minister had expressed her concern over the matter at a recently held state level administrative meeting.
She has directed the officials to solve land-related problems first before preparing the DPR, said the official.
The CMO also directed departments to submit a detailed report about the availability of land, which could be used for different projects in the future.