West Bengal seeks greater tax pie from Centre

Kolkata, November 18: The West Bengal government has requested the Centre to increase its share in the taxes collected from the states from 30.5 per cent to 50 per cent.

In a meeting with the chairman of the Thirteenth Finance Commission, Vijay Kelkar, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee demanded hat the scope of Centrally- sponsored schemes be redefined and states be given larger scope to implement such schemes. Kelkar is in Kolkata to hold meetings with representatives of the state government.

“Under the Indian constitution, most of the developmental works have to be carried out by the state. But we have limited resources. We have demanded that the entire financial relations between the Centre and the states should be restructured. We also demanded that states should be given the right to impose service tax,” said state Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta.

Kelkar urged the state government to go in for better fiscal management and mobilise resources. He pointed out that the growth rate of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of West Bengal was 10.5 per cent, while the national average was 11.29 per cent.

W.B Khadi & Village Industries Board bags first prize

Kolkata,November 18, 2008 : West Bengal Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVI) has recently won the national award for securing the first position from amongst state level KVI boards under the rural employment generation programme. This was due to the exceptional performance delivered by the Bengal KVI.From 1998-99 till 2006-07, the state KVI had taken up 9,584 projects and thereby providing employment to 94,419 people, but in 2007 alone 5,917 projects were undertaken providing work to 75,344 people. In 2007 the board not only completed its targets but set off on the course to achieving targets for the current year.

The West Bengal Khadi & Village Industries Board was set up by the Government of West Bengal under W.B.Act. XIV of 1959 and took over the activities from erstwhile Advisory Board in April, 1960. Bengal has established its status under Khadi Programme for its unique art and craftsmanship. The climatic condition and abundant local resources have widened the scope for the development of Khadi Programme in the State.

The districts of Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Birbhum, Bankura, Hooghly, Purulia have the extensive coverage of the Khadi Programme, especially for Silk & Muslin Khadi. The Bengal KVI unit is trying to promote and popularize muslin and silk khadi, but also a need has been felt in improving the marketing strategies to boost sales. The state produces 36.37 per cent of silk khadi and 55.25 per cent of muslin khadi of all produced by different KVIs in the country.

Separatist groups stoking violence, says Buddhadeb

KOLKATA,18th November,2008: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Monday that the various separatist groups were aiming to disturb “peace and harmony” in the State by stoking violence and terror.

Pointing out to the agitations at Paschim Medinipur, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, Mr. Bhattacharjee said: “If every other ethnic group starts demanding a State of their own, democracy in West Bengal be in peril.”He addressed an election rally in Howrah organised by the district’s Left Front committee in support of its candidates for the forthcoming polls to the Howrah Municipal Corporation.

“The tribal people in Paschim Medinipur district are being misled by the Maoists. But I thank a large section of them for having understood the reality and for detaching themselves from the movement,” he said. Mr. Bhattacharjee, however, added: “The Maoists will not sit idle.”

Agitation continue

Leaders of various tribal groups – some of which are suspected to have the support of Maoists – protesting against alleged police excesses announced on Monday that their agitation, which has virtually cut off Lalgarh area of West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur from the rest of the district, will be intensified and will continue till their demands are met.

They met in the Lalgarh area and reiterated their demands that include the release of tribals arrested in connection with the blast that narrowly missed Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s convoy on November 2, a public apology from the district’s police superintendent for the excesses committed on the local people during raids in the villages and the withdrawal of police camps from the region.

Govt.’s claim

The State government, however, claimed that five tribal groups that were part of the agitation have decided to withdraw from the protests. “They withdrew their agitation after a meeting with the local administration,” Raj Kanojia, the State’s Inspector-General of Police (Law and Order) said here.

Questions, however, remain on the impact the decision of these five groups will have on the overall agitation. Lalgarh has remained largely inaccessible for more than a week. Roads to the area have been dug up and trees felled to set up roadblocks at different places in the Jhargram sub-division, according to reports reaching here.

The State administration is treading a cautious line, avoiding any confrontation with the agitators. It is hoping that the situation can be resolved through discussions that are being initiated by the district authorities. The situation was reviewed at a meeting of senior State officials convened by the Chief Minister here.

In a significant development, an Additional Superintendent of Police of North 24 Parganas district, who was assigned to Lalgarh on special duty, has left the town, refusing to serve in an area where Maoists are active. He has threatened to resign if not relieved of his duties there.