Mamata Banerjee is set to hold an administrative review meeting at Nabanna on September 7 amid murmurs that the chief minister might use the session to assess ground realities in rural areas as part of preparations for next year’s panchayat polls.
“The chief minister usually holds such an overall administrative review meeting every year and sends necessary instructions to officials to complete projects on time. This year, rural issues are set to get the top priority at the meeting,” said a senior government official.
The meeting is considered to be significant as the state is facing several hurdles to carrying out its planned programmes at villages, which many believe may cost the ruling party dearly in panchayat polls.
A section of government officials think the Nabanna top brass is desperate to identify the problems and that is why the panchayat department will hold a meeting with all district magistrates on September 6, a day before Mamata’s review session.
Senior officials of the panchayat department will discuss issues related to the 100-day job scheme, rural roads and housing for the rural poor at the September 6 meeting.
“These are the issues which have left the state government in an awkward situation as the Centre has stopped the release of funds under these schemes alleging irregularities over the past few years,” said a source.
These issues are important for the ruling establishment ahead of the rural polls. The 100-day job scheme provides employment opportunities to rural populace, particularly in the post-pandemic period.
At least 2,000-3,000km of roads is constructed every year at villages.
“If funds are not released under the job scheme, the rural populace will suffer. The ruling party will face questions ahead of the polls as most panchayat bodies are run by the Trinamul Congress,” said a senior official.
The interim plan of the state government to give jobs to MGNREGA job card holders under Bengal schemes has not gained momentum, said the source.
“This is because only a handful of state government projects are being executed and more than 1.5 crore job card holders cannot be accommodated in those schemes. So, it remains to be seen how the state government handles the situation. The chief minister’s meeting might give a hint how the state is planning to handle the situation,” said a source.
The meeting will also give a hint of how the state wants to resolve the issues related to rural roads and dwelling units for the poor in absence of central funds.
“The state government had planned to use the untied funds received from the 15th finance commission for this purpose. But this initiative is not gaining momentum either because of infighting at the lower level of the ruling party,” said the source.