Want to end mafia raj, says Mamata as she calls for crackdown on illegal sand-miners
Durgapur: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the administration of West and East Burdwan districts to take stern action against illegal sand-miners. She was addressing the administrative review meeting here on Thursday afternoon.
The Chief Minister expressed concern when she came to know that 35 out of 50 sand-mines have been allotted through auction, while auction for the remaining 15 sand-mines will be held later.
"Expedite the procedure. The government is not getting any revenue and the sand mafias are becoming rich. The mafias put up a stumbling block in holding auction. There are coal mafias in Burdwan, who have contacts in Delhi and are sending money regularly. I want to put an end to the mafia raj."
She asked the administration of both the districts to stop the sand mafias at source. Sand lorries are being checked on highways regularly. Burdwan West district administration has asked the state-run agencies like PWD to check the receipt of procurement of sand from the contractors.
Banerjee also asked the Burdwan West district administration to install CCTVs at the border of Bengal-Jharkhand to stop the entry of criminals. "You will have to deal with this issue very seriously. Miscreants are coming to Burdwan West district and creating trouble."
The Chief Minister asked the
district administration to hold an 'adivasi mela', where the tribals will be informed about the various projects taken up by the state government.
"We have done a lot for the development of the tribals. But they are not always aware of the projects and through the mela, they will be informed about the projects and the benefits which are being given to them by the state government."
Banerjee urged the representatives of the nationalised banks to increase the amount of loans given to the farmers. "You give only Rs 25,000 as loans to the farmers. Please take up the issue with the higher authorities to ensure that the amount of loan given to the farmers is increased," she said.
She took stock of the work carried out under 100 days work and urged the Block Development Officers to ensure that the target of giving 100 days work is achieved.
In Burdwan district, massive work has been carried out under the Usharmukti project taken up by the Panchayat and Rural Development department. The Public Health Engineering (PHE) department has taken up water supply schemes to resolve the drinking water crisis in some pockets of West Burdwan.
A Rs 900 crore project funded by the World bank has been planned to control flood in Hooghly and Howrah and improve irrigation in Bankura and Burdwan districts. The work is likely to begin from March, 2019.
Banerjee asked the circle inspectors to go to the adivasi areas and talk to the people, to spot their problems, if any. "Go and talk to them and try to know from them whether they are facing any problem. Try to sort them out," the Chief Minister added.
