The Bengal cabinet on Thursday decided to set up Birsingha Development Authority for carrying out several development projects at Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar’s birth place in West Midnapore district.
“The chief minister had promised to set up the development authority for Vidyasagar’s birth place last year. The cabinet approved the proposal,” home secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said after the cabinet meeting at Nabanna.
According to officials, the district magistrate would be the chairperson of the development board and local MP and MLAs along with district officials would be inducted into the board as members.
The announcement of the board’s establishment is significant as Trinamul Congress insiders said Mamata Banerjee made it clear that she would keep focusing on Vidyasagar to embarrass the BJP.
“The sentiment associated with Vidyasagar had given us a dividend in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls after the BJP had vandalised a bust of the polymath in central Calcutta just ahead of the last phase of the general election. In the forthcoming Assembly polls, we will keep the issue alive,” said a minister present at the cabinet meeting.
With the board, sources said, the state government would start working to develop Birsingha, the polymath’s birthplace, as an educational tourist hub, which Mamata had announced during her visit to the village last year.
“As soon as the board is set up, the government can release funds to start the required work... In all likelihood, some visible development work would start before the Assembly polls scheduled for April-May next year,” said the minister.
The cabinet also approved a proposal to set up a 5MW floating solar power in Murshidabad’s Sagardighi to supply electricity to nearly 1 lakh homes.
Besides, the government extended deadlines to set up an educational institute and a hospital in the riverbank township project at Mahestala in South 24-Parganas.
The cabinet approved the “Purohit Kalyan Prakalpa”, under which a honorarium of Rs 1,000 each will be given to poor Hindu priests.
