Although she prefers to camp in Kolkata rather than attending important Cabinet meetings in Delhi, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today gave a clear signal that she was on a fast track to implement most of her Budget announcements.
The Amit Mitra committee report (Amit Mitra is the secretary general of industry body Ficci), prepared for utilisation of railway resources and infrastructure development, has provided a shot in the arm for Banerjee, who has set her eyes on the Writers’ Building — the West Bengal secretariat.
Not only has the Mitra panel set a deadline for all important projects, the deadlines also aim at implementing most of them before the 2011 Assembly elections in Bengal. Mitra, however, avoided a direct answer but said “we have set achievable deadlines for all these projects”.
When asked that she has skipped seven out of 12 Cabinet meetings resulting in delays in decision making, Banerjee snapped back: “I wonder why this question is only asked to me. At a recent meeting, the textile minister (Dayanidhi Maran) was not present. Even P Chidambaram doesn’t attend some meetings. And most importantly, I have already told my Cabinet colleagues that they need not wait for my presence to take any decision.” She also defended her move and said, “I don’t belong to Delhi. Everyone has his own areas and needs to stay there. When the Parliament session is not on, I get a chance to go back to my state.”
