 "Mamata Banerjee")
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday directed the Urban Development department to appoint one observer in every municipality to supervise developmental work.
Speaking at an administrative meeting here in North 24 Parganas district, the chief minister said it has been brought to her notice that members of the civic bodies' board of administrators were not going around areas under its jurisdiction and monitoring development work.
The five-year term of elected representatives who run over 100 municipalities and corporations of the state ended in the last two years, but elections could not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These civic bodies are being run by administrators appointed by the state government.
Banerjee said that the observers would also compile a list of the problems faced by common people and submit a report to her office without any delay.
The chief minister said that observers should be appointed in 125 municipalities as well as the corporations in the state.
Also Read
She said the much-awaited civic polls in the municipalities of the state would be held once the elections to municipal corporations in Kolkata and Howrah are over.
Banerjee also asked Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam to find the scientific cause behind the surge in the number of malaria cases in the state.
"Malaria in our state was eliminated at one point of time. But I think this year the outbreak of malaria is next to the Covid-19 pandemic. What is the scientific cause?" Banerjee asked the health secretary at the meeting.
The chief minister was taking stock of the situation in North 24 Parganas district which has reported a considerable rise in the number of malaria and dengue cases, compared to previous years.
The chief minister, however, expressed hope that the number of malaria and dengue cases would recede once winter sets in.
"Ask the municipalities and panchayat bodies to see that they are controlling the situation. I will ask you to appoint nodal officers to help you, she told the health secretary.
Nigam informed the chief minister that the number of malaria cases has gone up everywhere in the state, especially in Kolkata and its surrounding places.
"There is also a surge in dengue cases in some areas of Barrackpore, South Dum Dum, Barasat, Madhyagram and Asoknagar (in North 24 Parganas district). There are no deaths as such.
We are conducting tests. The situation is under control at the moment," Nigam said, adding that a study is being carried out to find out the cause.
Banerjee asked the authorities to distribute Guppy fishes in water bodies to control malaria.
Early this month, the chief minister said at least seven persons died of malaria and dengue in West Bengal in recent times.
She also asked the local MLAs to start awareness programmes for people who are yet to get the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Praising healthcare workers for carrying out a stupendous job in the fight to control the pandemic, Banerjee said that West Bengal is the only state in the country with zero wastage of COVID-19 vaccine doses.
She said that around 88 per cent of the people in North 24 Parganas district have received the first dose of the vaccine while 48 per cent have got the second vaccine.
The Trinamool Congress supremo also said that the district magistrates "can appoint 10 persons on contractual basis to help him".
"It is impossible to handle everything single-handedly. So, one district magistrate can appoint 10 persons on a contract basis. I will ask the chief secretary to amend the mechanism," she said that the government has decided to hire at least 50 people for senior posts at par with a joint secretary official.
Banerjee also asked the Chief Secretary, H K Dwivedi, to write to the Election Commission for extending the tenure of the district magistrates and superintendents of police from three years to five.
Banerjee urged Dwivedi to find out ways on how the revenues earned from the export and import centres like Petropol (in North 24 Parganas district) be utilised in different projects, like the building of roads, by bringing them directly to the state treasury.
The chief minister said that the Duare Sarkar' (the government at your door) programme in North 24 Parganas district will take place twice in January.
The Duare Sarkar programme will be organised from January 2 to 15 and from January 20 to 30, Banerjee said.
Asking officials to prepare a list of schemes which could be merged with others, the chief minister said, "There are several small schemes which have now become useless after we launched some new schemes which have become revolutionary.
So, prepare a list of those schemes which can be merged with the new ones to help the government meet the financial expenses," she said referring to schemes like 'Dhaner Gola".
Banerjee said that the government would be celebrating January 1 as 'Students' Day' to boost the confidence of pupils.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
