West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday directed officials to issue show-cause notices against Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Zilla Parishads, municipalities and even the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) who have been “on the run” since the change of government.
Adhikari said that nearly 80 per cent of elected representatives have been absent, severely affecting the delivery of public services.
Speaking to reporters at Bagdogra Airport after chairing a high-level administrative review meeting at Uttarkanya, Adhikari said the absence of elected representatives has disrupted implementation of several government programmes, including the recently launched 125-day employment guarantee initiative.
“Our government has no Saturdays or Sundays. We work 24×7. If elected representatives are absconding, how will public services be delivered? I have instructed officials to issue show-cause notices and initiate action against those who are on the run,” he said.
The Chief Minister alleged that many representatives were unable to face the public because of allegations of taking “cut money.”
“Either surrender, return the money to the people if you have taken cut money, or resign. This situation cannot continue,” he said.
Suvendu Adhikari said workers engaged under the 125-day employment programme would receive Rs 600 per day for skilled workers, Rs 450 for semi-skilled workers and Rs 300 for unskilled labourers.
He said implementation of the scheme was being hampered as panchayat representatives were unavailable to supervise and execute the works.
Reviewing the functioning of the Uttarkanya branch secretariat, the Chief Minister said only the North Bengal Development Department (NBDD) was functioning effectively, while most other departments were not operating at the desired level.
“The branch secretariat was created to decentralise governance so that people of North Bengal do not have to depend entirely on Kolkata. I have issued several directions to improve its functioning, though I do not wish to disclose all of them at this stage,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the allocation for the North Bengal Development Department had been increased from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,000 crore. Similarly, the allocation for the GTA had been doubled from Rs 180 crore to Rs 360 crore.
However, he expressed concern that development work in the hills was also suffering because several GTA members were allegedly absent from their areas.
On disaster preparedness, Adhikari said the state had taken a series of measures to tackle floods, landslides and other monsoon-related disasters. These include the formation of a 50-member ex-servicemen’s response team for the hills, deployment of 400 additional police personnel, and the creation of trained Civil Defence units in vulnerable areas. He added that trained Civil Defence volunteers would also be provided 25 days of employment every month through the Disaster Management Department.
He said district-specific development priorities relating to tourism, forests, horticulture and other sectors, as announced in the state budget, were also reviewed during the meeting, and officials had been directed to ensure their effective implementation through Uttarkanya.
Speaking about irrigation, Adhikari said 300 short-term projects out of 671 identified schemes had already been implemented, while the remaining long-term projects would be taken up after the monsoon.
“The purpose of Uttarkanya is to ensure that the people of North Bengal receive government services from North Bengal itself instead of having to depend on Kolkata,” the Chief Minister said.