Bengal cabinet okays revival plan for Durgapur dairy

The West Bengal government has decided to revive the ailing state-owned Durgapur dairy, inoperative since long, to meet the growing demand of dairy products in the state.
"The decision has been taken in the state cabinet today. Details will be chalked out soon," state's Law Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said briefing on the outcome of the meeting.
Bhattacharya said that the decision was taken with the initiative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state's Animal Resources Development Minister Swapan Debnath.
The state dairy with 85 employees was closed since May 20, 2004.
The state cabinet also took up a programme to extend the project 'Nija Bhume Nija Griha' from the rural area to the urban jurisdiction to cover the economically weaker section in the city.

With this a large number of poor people in the urban areas will be benefitted, she said.

In another decision, the state cabinet has decided to extend the age of retirement for ESI doctors from 60 to 62 years, state's Labour Minister Malay Ghatak said.
State cabinet also cleared sanction of Rs 240 crore to boost paddy procurement programme, since the Centre was yet to clear pending Rs 1149 crore for the purpose.
Strongly criticising Centre's attitude on this issue, state's Food Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick said that for want of required fund, the state government could not reach its paddy procurement target at 32 lakh tonnes.

"We have achieved only 12.3 lakh tonnes of paddy so far from which only 8.36 lakh tonnes of rice could be available. Despite repeated requests to the Centre, we are yet to receive any fund from them which we are supposed to get for this programme."
The minister also criticised the centre for reducing the state's quota for Kerosene supply. This has affected the distribution among the beneficiaries, he said.