Seeking the Plan panel's support to develop the backward Sundarbans regions into a tourist destination, she also shared with it her dream of transforming Kolkata and the Jalpaiguri regions into similar tourist hubs.
At a meeting with the panel which finalized Rs 22,214 crore annual plan outlay for the state for 2011-12, Banerjee said that her first priority was tackling poverty and backwardness with focus on "aam admi". "First I will work for bread and butter then move to malls," she said.
The state government will generate jobs for 10 lakh people in two years for which a plan of action would be announced soon, the CM told the Commission.
A confident Banerjee said that Bengal would give India a new development model while protecting the country's growth story.
Committing to creation of a conducive environment for setting up of industries and increasing tourism, Banerjee said her government proposed to set up 17 industrial clusters of which five or six would be in areas of high minority concentration. This was part of her strategy to boost growth of small and medium scale industries aimed at creating more jobs.
The state would come out with new land use policy in a bid to create an environment for reviving 5,000 industrial units crucial for generating jobs.
She managed to get a huge jump in the annual plan allocation which was Rs 17,985 crore in the last fiscal.
In the meeting, Banerjee said that e-governance would be the area of focus to ensure transparency and better delivery of public services. Along with providing basic amenities -- safe drinking water, health, schools -- Banerjee said that infrastructure would be the priority areas for her government. Accusing the Left Front government for leaving behind poor drainage and almost no civic amenities, she said Kolkata's infrastructure, including the metro network, would be developed as per the Kolkata Development Project.
While she revealed her plans to set up 300 diagnostic centres for poor across the state, Banerjee sought the Plan panel's help to ensure supply of safe drinking water, as the state faces the problem of arsenic in groundwater.
She also sought the Commission's support in facilitating better connectivity in the state, saying Bengal is gateway to the north-east. Banerjee demanded air connectivity to eight places including Malda, Santiniketan, Haldia and the Sundarbans.
Outlining that the recent agreement with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had brought stability to the Darjeeling hills, Banerjee said that other regions of the state, including North Bengal, Jangalmahal and the Sundarbans would get special attention.
West Bengal gets 27% hike from plan panel
The Planning Commission on Wednesday hiked the annual plan of the West Bengal government by 27% at a meeting with state chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The annual plan approved for 2011-12 was Rs 22,214 crore. Elated Banerjee announced that with huge allocation her government will try to create empl
oyment for 10 lakh people in the next two years and deal with chronic problems of the state.
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?