Rs 500 cr to civic body for better drainage facilities
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will receive a grant of Rs 500 crore from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to improve drainage system in the city and reduce the risk of waterlogging. The grant will be released in the next five years Rs 100 crore annually. The approval was recently given during a meeting in Delhi where civic body presented its plans, which include building new drainage pumping stations, upgrading old ones and building retention tanks that can hold rainwater. Three new drainage pumping stations will come up in areas that experience the worst flooding.
Outreach to get migrants registered in other states
The West Bengal government has decided to launch a large-scale outreach drive in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka to get more migrant workers from Bengal registered on the state’s Karmasathi portal, which was launched as part of an effort to offer better opportunity to people leaving the state in search of jobs and livelihood. The initiative was taken after it was noticed that only about 34% of the migrant labourers had registered their names on the portal through the recently organised drive titled Duare Sarkar (government at doorstep).
Govt to procure paddy directly from peasants
Aiming to woo the farming community’s vote-bank in its favour in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC-led West Bengal government is planning to procure paddy directly from at least 25 lakh peasants soon after the kharif (monsoon) season. The move is said to be part of the larger plan to secure electoral dividend by consolidating farmers’ support as around 70 lakh farmers in Bengal cultivate their plots in kharif season and the harvesting starts in November. Sources in the food and supplies department said district administrations had been asked to ensure the registration of one-third farmers before the procurement of the kharif harvest from November 1.
Pranab Mondal
Our correspondent in West Bengal
pranabm@newindianexpress.com