Page 80 - West Bengal

ADB joins hand with Bengal govt to study economic corridors' development

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has joined hands with the West Bengal government to undertake a study for the development of state economic corridors, a government statement said on Friday. The ADB is "keen to support the projects with technical expertise and funding", it said. The government, in the statement, said the study aims at "strategising economic development across the nodes of Andal-Panagarh, Kharagapur-Goaltore-Salboni and growth centres such as Siliguri, Dankuni and Kalyani with urban-industriallogistics-skills-energy-social sector convergence". The ADB has worked on a number of landmark projects, including the East Coast Economic Corridor and the Bangladesh Corridor study, it said. During the day, a stakeholder consultation meeting was held by Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi with key industries on the Industrial and Economic Corridor Project. Senior representatives from ADB, consulting firm Deloitte, industry body FICCI and various businesses of the industrial parks alo

HPL to invest Rs 3,000 cr to set up new chemical plants in West Bengal

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) will invest Rs 3,000 crore to set up new plants in West Bengal, a company spokesperson said on Thursday. It will build the first on-purpose propylene plant and a phenol unit at its existing manufacturing facility at Haldia, and both the projects are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2026, he said. The phenol plant will have a production capacity of 300 kilo tonnes per annum of phenol and 185 KTPA of acetone, he said. "With the commissioning of these plants, the overall chemical business portfolio is expected to increase by an additional Rs 5,000 crore," Narayan said. The propylene plant will be based on olefin conversion technology (OCT). According to the spokesperson, the company earned a revenue of Rs 999 crore from speciality chemicals during the last 2022-23 fiscal. HPL said the proposed investment will likely be the largest in West Bengal in the chemical sector in the last two decades. Narayan said the two projects will generat

TMC ends sit-in as Guv commits to take up MGNREGA dues issue with Centre

The five-day dharna' staged by the TMC outside the Bengal Raj Bhavan ended Monday after Governor CV Amanda Bose met the party's leader Abhishek Banerjee and gave an assurance of fulfilling his solemn responsibility" by addressing the issue of MGNREGA dues to the state. Bose had already met a TMC delegation in Darjeeling on Saturday and followed it up with Monday's meeting at Raj Bhavan where Banerjee was present. The dharna was to press for payment of Bengal's claims for central funds on account of various schemes including MGNREGA and housing for the poor. Banerjee, however, threatened to relaunch the agitation under TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee's leadership on November 1 if a satisfactory response on non-payment of MGNREGA wages to workers was not received. The central government had earlier claimed that there were discrepancies in West Bengal's accounts for the scheme and hence payments had been delayed. According to officials at the Raj Bhavan, a TMC delegation led by Abhishek

ITC Hotels brand Storii to set up presence in Kolkata, slated to open 2024

ITC Hotels on Monday announced the signing of its first 'Storii' property in West Bengal. The property will be located near the metropolis and is slated to open in early 2024. According to a company spokesman, ITC Hotels already has three 'Storii' properties which are presently operational in Goa and Dharamshala. The Kolkata property will have 30 keys, the spokesman said. Anil Chadha, divisional chief executive of ITC Hotels, said "ITC Hotels has a strong presence in Kolkata. The 'Storii' property will be a boutique resort away from the hustle and bustle of metro life." ITC's Storii hotels are boutique properties with each having a unique 'story' owing to its architecture, location, heritage, theme or facility offerings. Ravi Todi, director, South City Projects (Kolkata), said that this is the first hospitality venture of the property developer which will bring a world-class boutique resort with a Spa.

TMC dubs Governor's decision to meet party delegation as 'people's victory'

The Trinamool Congress dubbed Governor C V Ananda Bose's decision to meet their party delegation on Monday as a triumph of Bengal's resilience, in the wake of the indefinite sit-in outside Raj Bhavan, which entered its fifth day, demanding clearance of the state dues under MGNREGA by the Centre. The TMC delegation, led by party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, is scheduled to meet the governor on Monday evening. According to sources at Raj Bhavan, Bose, who returned to the city on Sunday, has consented to the meeting with the TMC delegation on Monday at 4 pm. In an official statement, the TMC stated, "In response to our official mail dated October 7, Honourable Governor, West Bengal, CV Ananda Bose has granted an appointment on Monday, October 9 at 4 PM to the AITC delegation to be led by our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee." The TMC celebrated the development on social media, declaring it a victory and stating that the governor had finally "relented" an

WB Governor gives appointment to protesting TMC leaders to meet today

The TMC party has been on a sit-in protest in front of Raj Bhavan in Kolkata since Thursday

CBI searches senior Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim's residence: Officials

The CBI conducted searches at the residence of senior West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim in Kolkata on Sunday morning in connection with its investigation into the alleged irregularities in recruitments made by the civic bodies in the state, officials said. Hakim, the minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, is also the mayor of Kolkata. He is a senior leader of the TMC and has significant sway in the party's organisation. A team of CBI officers reached Hakim's residence in south Kolkata's Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces, officials said. "Two CBI officers are questioning him," a senior official told PTI. As the searches began, Hakim's supporters gathered outside his house, and began a protest. On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched multiple locations, including the residence of Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh, in connection with the case. It is alleged by the central investigating agencies that around 1,500 people wer

Centre discriminating against flood-hit people in north Bengal: CM Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday alleged that the Centre is discriminating against the flood-affected people of north Bengal despite the "gravity" of the disaster in the area and the number of deaths being similar to that in neighbouring Sikkim. She said that the Bengal government has and will continue to help Sikkim at this hour of need. "Bengal is not a beggar", she said demanding "equality in treatment and non-discrimination in matters related to central help". Banerjee mentioned that since the night of the flashflood, her government has sent assistance of Rs 25 crore to Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and teams senior ministers and officials are still in the affected areas monitoring the situation in the flood-hit north Bengal districts. "The disaster that struck our brothers and sisters in Sikkim has also struck my people in Darjeeling hills and Kalimpong also. The strategic chicken's neck area of West Ben

Rs 6,907 cr due from GOI to West Bengal under MGNREGS: Amit Mitra

During a press conference, Mitra criticised the govt of India for not releasing the rightful dues to states, thus affecting rural employment opportunities for 25.4 mn job card holders in WB

'Govt never deprived WB of MGNREGA, discrepancies present in utilisation'

Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Saturday asserted that the Centre has never deprived West Bengal of its MGNREGA dues and statistics of the last nine years prove that. The Union Minister of State for Rural Development, who was addressing a press conference here, however, alleged that there have been discrepancies in the utilisation of MGNREGA funds in the districts of the eastern state. Dismissing the TMC's allegations that she refused to meet the West Bengal ruling party's team in New Delhi for talks regarding MGNREGA dues, she said, "I wanted to meet them and waited for nearly two-and-a-half hours for them. But they kept shifting goalposts on the number of members of their delegation." "They are now leveling false allegations that I ran away through the back door. The TMC is spreading lies, they did not want to meet me, they just wanted to create drama," she claimed. She expressed her willingness to engage in talks with the TMC delegation anytime but questioned the West ..

TMC's sit-in outside Raj Bhavan enters 3rd day; delegates to meet Guv

The indefinite sit-in demonstration outside Raj Bhavan by TMC activists led by senior leader Abhishek Banerjee entered the third day with protesters asserting their stir will continue till Governor C V Ananda Bose meets them at the protest site even as a team of agitators will call on him in Darjeeling on Saturday. Raj Bhavan sources said Bose has agreed to meet the delegation in Darjeeling's Gubernatorial Mansion at 5.30 pm after receiving an email request from TMC leader Derek O'Brien. The governor's decision to meet the delegation comes in the wake of the TMC sit-in led by Banerjee demanding the release of West Bengal's MGNREGA dues by the Centre and demanding an audience with Bose. Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, however, said that the stir will continue till Bose meets the agitators at the protest site outside the Raj Bhavan. Banerjee said the TMC's three-member delegation would consist of state Panchayat Minister Pradip Mazumdar and Lok Sabha MPs Kalyan Banerjee

Amidst TMC protest, BJP questions party for its 'misrule' in West Bengal

But the opposition is so against PM Modi that even the plight of their own party workers is not visible to them, added Trivedi

Two killed in Bengal as mortar shell carried by floodwaters explodes

Two killed in Bengal's Jalpaiguri as mortar shell carried by floodwaters explodes

TMC announces indefinite sit-in outside Raj Bhavan, criticises governor

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee announced an indefinite sit-in on Thursday in front of the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of Bengal's governor CV Ananada Bose hours after he flew off to visit flood affected areas of North Bengal and then to Delhi. Banerjee announced the sit-in after thousands of party functionaries and its top leadership marched up to the British-era edifice to protest the alleged withholding of West Bengal's MGNREGA dues by the Centre. The huge show of strength brought traffic to a standstill in the heart of the busy metropolis. The march comes days after the party held a two-day protest programme in New Delhi to draw attention to the alleged delayed payment of dues towards the MGNREGA programme which guarantees 100 days of work to the poor and for a scheme which helps build houses for poor families. "We had sought a meeting with the Governor, but he did not grant us an audience. He has gone to North Bengal. It seems as if he regards us as bonded .

ED searches WB minister house in irregularities in hirings by civic bodies

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) began searches at multiple locations, including the residence of West Bengal Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh, on Thursday in connection with its investigation into the alleged irregularities in the recruitments done by the civic bodies in the state, officials said. Along with a large contingent of central forces, the investigators reached Ghosh's residence in Michaelnagar in North 24 Parganas district around 6.10 am, they said. Simultaneously, the investigators began searches at 12 other places in connection with the case, they added. It was not immediately known if Ghosh was at his house when the searches began. Ghosh, the TMC MLA of Madhyamgram, was earlier an office-bearer of the Madhyamgram Municipality. The ED has alleged that around 1,500 people were illegally recruited by different civic bodies in the state, between 2014 and 2018, against monetary considerations.

Bengal flood situation: 10,000 people rescued; guv to visit affected areas

Expressing concern over the flood-like situation in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that 10,000 people have been rescued and kept in 190 relief camps in nine districts in the southern and northern parts of the state. Banerjee, who is recuperating from a leg injury, said she is personally monitoring the situation round the clock from home and announced that leaves of a number of state government officials were cancelled as a part of the measure to contain the flood situation in the state. West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose is scheduled to visit the flood-affected districts in the northern part of the state on Thursday. The northern part of West Bengal shares border with Sikkim which witnessed a flash flood in the Teesta river leaving at least 10 people dead, scores injured and around 80 others missing. Taking stock of the situation at a meeting, Banerjee asked Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi and Home Secretary BP Gopalika to immediately send a tea

NGT seeks report on Ganga pollution from 10 districts in West Bengal

The National Green Tribunal has sought reports from the district magistrates of 10 West Bengal districts, across which the Ganga and its tributaries flow, on pollution caused due to discharge of sewage and industrial effluents. The NGT has also sought information about the remedial action taken by the authorities. The green tribunal was hearing a matter related to prevention and control of pollution of the Ganga in West Bengal, where its is also known as Bhagirathi or Hooghly. "Let notice be issued to the District Ganga Protection Committees concerned in West Bengal through their Ex-Officio Chairman (District Magistrates) for submitting a report," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said in a recent order. The bench, also comprising judicial members Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, and expert member A Senthil Vel, identified the discharge of untreated sewage, industrial effluents, hazardous waste and biomedical waste into the river, ...

ED issues fresh summons to Abhishek Banerjee; asks to join investigation

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh summon to Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. He has been asked to join the ED investigation on October 9, sources said.The ED had earlier summoned Banerjee on October 3. However, Banerjee did not appear at the ED office on that date, owing to the party's MGNREGA protests in Delhi on the same date.Banerjee alleged that it was a tactic used by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led central government to squash the protests."The fight against the deprivation of WB and its rightful dues shall persist regardless of the obstacles. No force on Earth can hinder my dedication to fight for the people of WB and their fundamental rights. I'll b in Delhi joining the protest on Oct 2nd & 3rd. STOP ME IF U CAN!" Banerjee said in a post on 'X'.The TMC general secretary had also alleged that the ED was summoning on days when he had pre-announced public programs."Earlier this month, the ED summoned me on a day coinciding with .

TMC to hold protests across Bengal, burn effigies against detention

The TMC will hold demonstrations across West Bengal on Wednesday to protest against the detention of its national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, after a sit-in at the Union Rural Development Ministry office in Delhi a day before. The development marks an escalation in the ongoing conflict between the Centre and the West Bengal government over the release of funds under the MGNREGA and other schemes to the state. The TMC had conducted protests in the national capital on October 2 and 3 when their leaders were detained. The party expressed outrage at the treatment of its leaders, stating that it will "hold protest rallies across the state on Wednesday against the barbaric attitude of the BJP-led Union government". "We were conducting peaceful protests, and our leaders were being manhandled and detained by the police. Effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh will be burnt in all the blocks of the state

2.5 mn fake MGNREGA job cards issued in WB, Centre mulling probe: Giriraj

Alleging a large-scale embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in West Bengal, Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday said the Centre is considering a CBI investigation into the issuance of "25 lakh fake job cards" in the state. Singh's statement came on a day TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee along with party MLAs, MPs and hundreds of supporters sat on a dharna at the Rajghat in Delhi, demanding release of the MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana funds for West Bengal. "Issuing of 25 lakh fake job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by the Mamta Banerjee-led West Bengal government is a scam. Why were the central funds siphoned off? And when the Center is conducting its own inquiry into the matter, the state government is not cooperating," Singh alleged. "The West Bengal government and TMC leaders have indulged in large-scale misappropriation of central funds," he alleged. The Centre is least bothered about the TMC's protest in Delhi, the minis