Centre not giving nod to flood protection plan in Ghatal: Mamata

The Rs 1,500-crore ‘Ghatal Master Plan’ is a mega project, entailing the dredging of riverbeds and strengthening of embankments of 10 major rivers, including Rupnarayan, Shilabati and Kansabati, which get swollen during monsoon causing deluges.

“We have spent Rs 114 crore to revamp the Medinipur Pradhan Khal. Besides, a 350 sq km dam conservation project is also underway. Another project worth Rs 2,700 crore has been undertaken in the district, which will help control floods in Howrah, Hooghly, Bardhaman and Midnapore so that people can work in the flood-prone areas,” said the chief minister.

The chief minister further alleged that the Centre had also stopped the scholarship for minorities. “Since the Centre has stopped scholarships for our minority students, we have started a scholarship named ‘Medhashree’. We are providing scholarships to 1.5 crore students from state government funds. I want each and every student to prosper and succeed,” she said.

Laying foundation stones for a slew of projects, the chief minister claimed that the Centre was not paying the state its share of the GST collected from the state. “The central government should not forget Bengal’s share of the GST is not their personal fund. It is collected from the people of our state. Despite Centre’s vendetta, I am proud to say that we are the only state that has numerous social welfare projects that save the lives of people across all ages,” she said.

Alleging that the Centre was not giving funds for the 100-day job scheme, Banerjee said the state is being deprived. “There are several roads in rural Bengal which need to be reconstructed. We are rebuilding 11,500 km of roads in rural Bengal and allocated Rs 3,000 crore for it. The Centre is not providing funds for it,” she said.

Slamming the Centre for its decision to disburse funds to only those who have their bank accounts linked with their Aadhaar cards, Banerjee said, “The BJP government in Delhi has stopped money for 100 Days’ Work Scheme, claiming that only those who have their bank accounts linked with Aadhaar will be eligible to work under the scheme. Are people in villages so tech-savvy that they will be able to link their Aadhaar online? Many gram panchayats in Bengal don’t even have banks or post offices. So, how can you ask them to link their bank accounts with their Aadhaar cards? BJP leaders don’t think about all these things.”