State guest house in Puri: Odisha to give land free-of-cost

Kolkata: The Odisha government is set to provide 2-acre land to the Bengal government at completely free of cost to set up ‘Banga Bhawan’ in Puri, sources said.

The Odisha government has already handed over the land to the Bengal government and now it has decided not to take a penny from the Mamata Banerjee-led government in Bengal.

The move will open new avenues between the two governments and also strengthen

relationships.

The land is situated in an area where a new township and airport are coming up. The area is now known as New Puri.

The Bengal government was ready to give the entire cost of the land but the Odisha government decided to give the land at free of cost. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on March 23 and discussed the importance of strengthening the federal structure of the country. Both the leaders met amidst the buzz of the Trinamool chief leading an initiative to forge an alliance of regional parties against the BJP.

During her meeting with Patnaik, Banerjee had expressed her desire to set up the state’s guest house at Puri. She also inspected proposed land.

At the beginning of the meeting the Odisha Chief Minister gave his consent to go ahead with construction works for

‘Banga Bhawan’.

Banerjee also told Patnaik that the Bengal is also setting up a miniature of Jagannath Temple here in Digha.

Naveen Patnaik after holding the meeting with his counterpart had said he was delighted that Banerjee had been there on a trip.