Kolkata, Aug. 25 -- With a promise to put Bengal on the road to self-reliance, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday unveiled a six-point agenda for his government, anchored in national security, constitutional duties, central schemes, welfare, employment and industrial growth.
Adhikari also welcomed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's (KMC) issuance of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the Baranagar-Barrackpore Metro Corridor (Pink Line) along BT Road.
Speaking at a conclave of a television channel, Adhikari reiterated that his six-point roadmap puts national security at the top, followed by fulfilling constitutional responsibilities, ensuring Bengal's participation in all central schemes, welfare programmes , a three-tier employment strategy and the creation of an industry-friendly ecosystem.
He said Bengal had to become "self-reliant", with the government focusing on both welfare and job creation while making the state more attractive to industry.
Stating that the state government was now engaged in "healing the wounds" left behind by the previous administration, he said, "Performance evaluation cannot be done in 100 days. Now is the time to heal the wounds. After coming to power, I saw that the previous government had left the state bankrupt.
He announced three committees to look into a range of allegations and policy failures during the previous government.
One panel will examine why industries closed down in Bengal and work towards framing a fresh industrial policy. Two others will look into alleged illegal decisions and corruption under the previous administration.
The committees will be headed by Tapas Roy, Swapan Dasgupta and Manoj Agarwal.
Adhikari also took a swipe at Trinamool Congress over what he described as "appeasement politics". "The former Chief Minister used to calculate the politics of appeasement in everything."The Chief Minister's remarks on Jadavpur were equally sharp. He said he had been compelled to post videos after "anti-national slogans" were allegedly written on walls there.
"There is no place in Bengal for any supporter of Kishenji," Adhikari said. Taking a swipe at celebrations of freedom, he asked: "What freedom is being celebrated with music and fanfare?"
"There is no place in West Bengal for intellectual Naxals or their supporters," he added.
Welcoming the NOC for the Baranagar Metro Corridor, Adhikari wrote in his X handle. "This milestone marks a significant step forward in expanding rapid mass transit across the northern suburbs of Kolkata, promising to drastically cut travel times, ease arterial traffic congestion and deliver safe, modern public transport to commuters. The progress on this 12-kilometre corridor displays what focused administrative determination can achieve," he posted.
According to Adhikari's post, the project also entails construction of a dedicated water transmission pipeline to protect the city's potable-water supply while allowing the metro work to proceed.
Adhikari said better coordination between civic bodies and the state and Central governments would be crucial to removing bottlenecks in major infrastructure projects.
The Pink Line clearance, he said, was an example of how administrative coordination could help push ahead projects involving complex engineering and urban-planning challenges.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.