Distribution of Sabuj Sathi cycles for Class IX, X students to begin in April

The state government will place orders for 30 lakh bicycles under the Sabuj Sathi project, which will be distributed among students of Classes IX and X of state government-run, aided and sponsored schools in April.

The Backward Classes Welfare department (BCW) will float e-tender, inviting firms to supply the bicycles within a fortnight.

The students who will be promoted to Classes IX and X in 2017 will receive the cycles.

The firms will first be selected and then work order will be issued by March. The state government expects to get 30 lakh cycles between April and September and intends to complete distribution by December 2017. The first batch of cycles is expected to arrive in April.

The BCW department is also imparting training to around 3,000 unemployed youths in SC and ST category to repair bicycles. They will be employed as fitters and will assemble the cycles.

The spares of cycles come in boxes and fitters later assemble them, before they are distributed among the beneficiaries.

More than 4,500 fitters from different parts of the country had come to assemble 35 lakh bicycles last year.

It may be mentioned that the state Finance minister Amit Mitra had announced the project in his 2015-16 budget speech and already 35 lakh bicycles have been distributed among students of Classes IX, X, XI and XII of state government-run, aided and sponsored school.

It was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who christened the project Sabuj Sathi. Three firms had been selected to distribute 40 lakh cycles, namely Hero, Avon and Hercules.

The BCW department has  the data containing names of all the beneficiaries, the classes they were in, when they received the cycles, names of the schools along with dates when they had received them and also names of their parents or guardians. This has emerged as an example of e-governance.

Sabuj Sathi is one of the state government's most successful projects. Taking cue from its success, Hero Cycles has shown interest to set up a cycle factory in Bengal and  top bosses of the company  made the announcement at the two day Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in Kolkata this January.

Bengal is the country's first state to procure the highest number of cycles and distribute them among school students free of cost.