KOLKATA: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday addressed a public meeting in Singur of Hoogly district.
During the address, Mamata stressed the need for co-existence of agriculture and industry in the state, with neither of the two encroaching into each other's domains.
However, the CM did not make any big industrial announcements for the 1000 acres abandoned Tata Motors small car factory site.
Nine days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed a rally at Singur; however, he did not make any promises regarding the setting up of a big industry in the area.
Singur was the proposed site of Tata’s small car manufacturing plant; however, following protests by Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, Congress and the BJP.
During the address, Mamata reiterated her stand on the agriculture-industry dichotomy in the state.
Mamata added that her government does not support the forcible acquisition of fertile land in the name of industries.
She also announced development projects in the vicinity of the abandoned Tata Motors small car factory site and claimed that these initiatives will generate employment for thousands of local youths.
An agro-industrial park worth about Rs 9 crore has come up on eight acres of land in Singur, and 25 of the 238 plots at the site have already been allotted, Mamata added.
In addition to this, another private industrial park would come up on 77 acres in the town, and warehouses of Amazon and Flipkart are also on the offing.
“Thousands of people will get jobs there,” Mamata said.
Recalling her land movement against the Tata project in Singur, Mamata said, “I had promised the people of Singur to bring back their land acquired by the then Left Front government for the small car project, and I did it.”
Sharpening her attack on the PM, she said, “You have withheld all funds allotted for Bengal under different schemes and misleading people, saying, ‘I (Modi) will do everything for Bengal. I keep my promise 100 per cent because my words are valuable and never make any ‘jumla’ like the ‘double-engine’ government at the Centre.”
“Singur is my favourite place, and I spent many days on roads here for two years between 2006 and 2008. I had done a hunger strike for 26 days here, and many people have supplied me with food during this period,” she added.
She also inaugurated 1077 projects of around Rs 5694 crores from Singur today.
The state government today also deposited the first instalment of Rs 60,000 into the accounts of 20 lakh beneficiaries under the ‘Banglar Abaas’ scheme II in the state.
The government will have to spend Rs 24,180 crore on the scheme.
“Earlier, 12 lakh beneficiaries had received the fund, and today, 20 lakh more people have been given the first instalment,” the CM said today.
