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Mamata regime to acquire land in the Sundarbans

Special Correspondent

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced that as a special project, her government would acquire land for building embankments in the Cyclone Aila-ravaged Sundarbans.

She said that while the government was preparing its land policy, acquisition for this project had to begin soon as the matter could brook no delay. “Six thousand acres is needed for this government programme on which no work seems to have been done by the previous government. Central funds are lying unutilised,” she said.

Teachers' jobs

Ms. Banerjee told reporters at the Secretariat that the land would be purchased at market rate through negotiations and employment would be given to each family from whom the land was taken, besides an annuity payment to protect their livelihoods.

“We need to ensure that they get some monthly payment,” she said, adding that the employment would be that of teachers or those based on skill-sets.

Ms. Banerjee said these decisions were taken after a meeting with the Ministers of all the relevant Departments, besides the Chief Secretary, and the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture, Irrigation, Water Resources, and Development and Planning. The District Magistrates of the North and the South 24 Parganas, which had borne the brunt of Cyclone Aila, as well as the District Magistrate of the Purba Medinipur district, which was also affected, attended the meet.

Ms. Banerjee said the Centre had released funds for building and repairing embankments washed away by the cyclone which had killed hundreds and rendered many more shelter-less.

Construction in November

Pointing out that construction work for this project would commence in November after the monsoons, Ms. Banerjee said that while the planning would be done by the District Magistrates, the implementation would be through the panchayats. The departments concerned would meet on a monthly basis to review the progress of matters.

She also said that a Flood Control Commission would be set up.

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