SILIGURI | TOI: Every three months, Writers' Buildings will traverse a distance of 600 km and come here. The chief minister and the top brass of the administration, with at least 15 ministers, will also travel the same distance to bridge the miles of mental gap between North Bengal and Kolkata. Work on the much-touted CMO project is set to begin in a fortnight.
Those who were disappointed with an apparent "volte face" by Mamata Banerjee in trying to set up her secretariat at Chandmoni Tea Estate can, however, take heart now. Because the CM has cancelled her original plans to set up a second Writers' at the disputed tea garden. Instead she is planning it on a seven-acre plot near Siliguri town. It will serve the people of north Bengal.
The land belongs to the government and there is no acquisition issue here. The CMO will be set up in about two years, sources said.
Mamata's voters in Siliguri were stunned when the Darjeeling district administration started acquiring five acres inside the tea gardens at the CM's behest in July, last year. "We were surprised to hear that the CMO would be coming up at Chandmoni near the Uttarayan township," said a PWD official based in Siliguri. Trinamool had earlier charged the CPM with destroying the greenery of the tea estate to build a township.
The CM was reminded of the protests that had erupted in the area in June 2002 after CPM leaders, including former urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, had floated the idea of a satellite township project at the tea estate with the help of a private realtor. Two labourers were killed in a police firing during an agitation.
After being reminded of this history, the chief minister eventually changed her plans. "The land at Chandmoni is a disputed one. So we have decided to shift our project elsewhere," Gautam Deb, North Bengal Development minister, told TOI on Thursday. The minister has been overseeing arrangements for the week-long Uttarbanga Utsav which Mamata will flag off at Kanchenjunga Stadium on Friday.
Keeping him company are a host of ministers, including Partha Chatterjee (commerce and industries), Upen Biswas (backward classes welfare) and Madan Mitra (transport). The state's second city (Siliguri) wore a festive look with giant gateways announcing the CM's visit and the Uttarbanga Utsav. Mamata will also be conducting a review meeting for the five north Bengal districts, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, North and South Dinajpur and Malda.
The CM may announce the CMO, which will be a green building, at the Utsav. The sprawling complex will not quite resemble the heritage Writers' built by our colonial rulers, according to the model created by the North Bengal Development Council, of which Mamata is the chairperson and Deb the vice-chairman. The CM will have a bungalow for herself.
"This CMO will have residential quarters for VVIP guests and a cluster of administrative buildings. One block dedicated to the council," said Deb. Seven infrastructure companies including the state PSU Mackintosh Burn have responded to tender calls.
Deb said his department had generated Rs 545 crore for north Bengal, including the Rs 200 budgetary allotment. "The Left Front had spent only Rs 370 crore in 11 years. I must say we have an edge over them already," said the minister.
Those who were disappointed with an apparent "volte face" by Mamata Banerjee in trying to set up her secretariat at Chandmoni Tea Estate can, however, take heart now. Because the CM has cancelled her original plans to set up a second Writers' at the disputed tea garden. Instead she is planning it on a seven-acre plot near Siliguri town. It will serve the people of north Bengal.
The land belongs to the government and there is no acquisition issue here. The CMO will be set up in about two years, sources said.
Mamata's voters in Siliguri were stunned when the Darjeeling district administration started acquiring five acres inside the tea gardens at the CM's behest in July, last year. "We were surprised to hear that the CMO would be coming up at Chandmoni near the Uttarayan township," said a PWD official based in Siliguri. Trinamool had earlier charged the CPM with destroying the greenery of the tea estate to build a township.
The CM was reminded of the protests that had erupted in the area in June 2002 after CPM leaders, including former urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, had floated the idea of a satellite township project at the tea estate with the help of a private realtor. Two labourers were killed in a police firing during an agitation.
After being reminded of this history, the chief minister eventually changed her plans. "The land at Chandmoni is a disputed one. So we have decided to shift our project elsewhere," Gautam Deb, North Bengal Development minister, told TOI on Thursday. The minister has been overseeing arrangements for the week-long Uttarbanga Utsav which Mamata will flag off at Kanchenjunga Stadium on Friday.
Keeping him company are a host of ministers, including Partha Chatterjee (commerce and industries), Upen Biswas (backward classes welfare) and Madan Mitra (transport). The state's second city (Siliguri) wore a festive look with giant gateways announcing the CM's visit and the Uttarbanga Utsav. Mamata will also be conducting a review meeting for the five north Bengal districts, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, North and South Dinajpur and Malda.
The CM may announce the CMO, which will be a green building, at the Utsav. The sprawling complex will not quite resemble the heritage Writers' built by our colonial rulers, according to the model created by the North Bengal Development Council, of which Mamata is the chairperson and Deb the vice-chairman. The CM will have a bungalow for herself.
"This CMO will have residential quarters for VVIP guests and a cluster of administrative buildings. One block dedicated to the council," said Deb. Seven infrastructure companies including the state PSU Mackintosh Burn have responded to tender calls.
Deb said his department had generated Rs 545 crore for north Bengal, including the Rs 200 budgetary allotment. "The Left Front had spent only Rs 370 crore in 11 years. I must say we have an edge over them already," said the minister.
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