The West Bengal government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made significant decisions during its third cabinet meeting. One of the key changes involves the continuation of the Maa Canteens initiative, originally introduced by the previous administration led by Mamata Banerjee during the Covid-19 period. However, the project will now be known as Maa Ahaar.
The cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, announced that the food available through this program will now be offered at Rs 5 in more locations than before. Previously, food was provided at 390 places, but with the expansion, it will now be accessible at 110 new locations, with distribution from 500 centers. Additionally, the Annapurna Yojana funds will be deposited into the accounts of 28,25,769 beneficiaries.
Furthermore, the government decided to celebrate West Bengal Day on June 20 instead of Poila Baishakh. It was also revealed that a new statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee will be erected on July 6, his birth anniversary, although the exact location is yet to be determined. Additionally, land has been allocated to the Border Security Force (BSF) for fence construction along the West Bengal-Bangladesh border at nine different sites.
The state government also finalized the transfer of land for various projects, including the permanent transfer of land after fence construction along the India-Bangladesh border in South Dinajpur. Moreover, land in Nagrakata is set to be transferred to the Forest Department for a railway project, with approval granted for the Sevoke-Rangpur broad gauge railway line. Various other decisions were made, such as increasing compensation for sewage workers’ deaths and restructuring the West Bengal SC, ST, OBC Development and Finance Corporation.
Lastly, proposals were put forth to enhance the salaries of the Chief Minister’s Executive Assistants and appoint Surajit Nath Mitra as the Advocate General of West Bengal.
