West Bengal economy to revive in 1 year: Suvendu

Bengal’s economic health had just started to limp back to normalcy, but it would be at least a year before it regains its vitality, thanks to the economic anarchy and large-scale corruption of the previous Trinamool Congress regime, State Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said.

“Though it cannot be said that the economic health of our State has recovered fully, it has started recovering, and I am of the opinion that in a year’s time we will be able to overcome the crisis,” Adhikari said, holding the previous Mamata Banerjee Government fully responsible for the “economic mess” that Bengal was in.

“There was large-scale corruption and fiscal indiscipline committed by the previous Government,” and adding insult to injury, the previous Government would not join the central Government’s schemes, leading to the present situation, the Chief Minister alleged. “The State Government has joined the various central schemes as a result of which more funds are coming ... I am hopeful that the economy will return to normalcy in a year,” he said and claimed that because of some corrective measures taken by the Government, revenue leakages would stop.

“The Government has taken some measures that will plug the revenue leakages,” and eventually the State’s tax revenue would go up by 18 per cent, he said.

The Chief Minister was addressing a gathering of beneficiaries of social schemes where old people and widows had assembled to receive enhanced benefits. The State Government increased the old age allowance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. The Chief Minister said that the waiting lists of beneficiaries prepared by the previous Government would stand cancelled as new welfare camps would be set up by the new Government to enlist newer beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, in a new development, the Central and State agencies have approved construction of a four-lane greenfield corridor connecting parts of North Bengal so that vehicles moving from southern Bengal to northern Bengal will not have to enter the Kishanganj corridor of Bihar, sources said. The new road would connect Chopra in North Dinajpur with parts of Darjeeling district.