WB has progressed even faster than the country: Mamata

Claiming that West Bengal has grown at a fast clip, even faster than the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that she was ready for a comparative study between the work done in the state in 66 years after Independence and that in the 4.5 years' regime of her government.
"We are ready for a comparison between the development work done in the state in the last 66 years since Independence and what we have done in the last four and half years' time," Banerjee said at the inauguration of a series of projects to over 300 at the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra here this evening.

The Chief Minister further went on stating that the performance of her government the last four and a half years' time in terms of development work done in the state has "become a subject of research".
"I doubt whether anybody else will be able to complete such massive development work... The amount of work that has been done in the past four years, will be chronicled in the pages of history. I think this some research work must be done on this," Banerjee said.
She hit back at the Opposition's allegations that the state has not "progressed", but on the contrary has been going backwards in all sectors including agriculture, industry, education sector.

"I challenge the Opposition to prove their allegations against me. Do not engage in petty politics out of jealousy... I doubt if anyone else could have performed so much in the last 5 years in the conditions we had to work in. We are not beating around the bush. Every claim we make are backed by figures and facts," she said.

She went on mentioning her government's achievements saying that West Bengal far exceeded India in growth of GVA, industry and agriculture.
"What else do you want... The earlier government messed up the whole situation in such a manner that industry was messed up...We want smooth process for industrialisation, not a botched up hurried exercise," the Trinamool Congress chairperson alleged.

Banerjee also hit back at the Opposition over their allegations that the state has taken a debt of Rs one lakh crore in the last four and a half years' time, and said, "People say we have taken a debt of Rs one lakh crore. But out of that, Rs 90,000 crore was used for repaying loans taken by Left.
And that's why we were only able to achieve democratic freedom in 2011 but not economic freedom. I doubt if anyone else could have performed so much in the last 5 years in the conditions we had to work in," she said.

Banerjee inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of five educational projects. An academic building of Bankura University, and administrative buildings of Diamond Harbour Women's University and Bidhan Nagar Government College were inaugurated.
Foundations stones were laid of Sanskrit Sahitya Charcha O Gabeshana Kendra in Nabadwip and the West Bengal University of Teachers' Training, Educational Planning and Administration in Kolkata.
A mobile app named SWAS (Service With a Smile), for the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), was launched. Through this app, entrepreneurs of West Bengal are provided with answers to their queries regarding statutory compliances and incentives.
Other road projects inaugurated included the renovated and widened bridge over the Kaljani River along the Dinhata-Balarampur-Chilakhara road, and the eight-laned Diamond Harbour Road, at a cost of Rs 105 crore and the widened Barasat-Basirhat Road, at a cost of Rs 108 crore.