THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2025 www.thestatesman.com SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 | LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR NETANYAHU THREATENS TO RESUME OFFENSIVE IN GAZA CATASTROPHIC ACCESS, CONFLICTED INTERESTS P10 P9 State govt presents `3.89 lakh cr budget The state government also announced a 4 per cent DA hike for its employees STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE After failing to secure any support from the Centre, the state government has also decided to take up the Ghatal Master Plan to prevent floods in West Midnapore on its own. Rs 500 crore has been allocated for the purpose. KOLKATA, 12 FEBRUARY C handrima Bhattacharya, Minister of State for Finance (Independent Charge) on Wednesday presented a Rs 3,89,194.09 crore Budget for 2025-26 in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The Budget gives a thrust to rural development, which includes affordable housing for the poor, the construction and upgradation of rural roads, the interlinking of rivers, and the implementation of the Ghatal Master Plan to control floods in vast areas of West Midnapore and its surroundings. The government also announced a 4 per cent DA for its employees from 1 April in the Budget. While addressing the media after the presentation of the Budget in the Assembly, Chief Minister Miss Mamata Banerjee said: “The Left Front government had released only 35 per cent of the DA which was recommended by the 5th Pay Commission. Our government gradually raised the DA up to 125 per cent from time to time. This 125 per cent DA was merged with the basic pay as per the recommendation of the 6th Pay Commission. The state government has so far released DA up to 14 per cent on the revised basic pay. The state government has decided to release another instalment of DA of 4 per cent from 1 April, raising the total rate of DA to 18 per cent,” she said. Those who will benefit include state government employees, semigovernment employees, teaching and non-teaching staff, and pensioners. The state Budget for 202526 allocated a sum of Rs 44,000 crore for rural development and the development of panchayats. Under the Pathshree project, which is meant for the development of rural roads, a sum of Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated. Already, 37,000 km of roads have been built or upgraded. After failing to secure any support from the Centre, the state government has also decided to take up the Ghatal Master Plan to prevent floods in West Midnapore. The state government had tried several times to pursue the matter with the Centre, which is sitting on the proposal. A sum of Rs 500 crore has been allocated for the purpose. To improve school education, the state government has allocated Rs 41,000 crore. Under the West Bengal Industrial and Economic Corridor Policy 2023, a preliminary project report (PPR) with details of the infrastructure works needed for the proposed Asian Development Bank-assisted Economic Corridor Project, including roads, power, water supply, etc., has been submitted to the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. The total financial involvement is Rs 4,400 crore, out of which Rs 3,285 crore will be an ADB loan and Rs 877.40 crore will be the state government’s contribution. The state government has earmarked Rs 14,000 crore to help 12 lakh families set up affordable houses under the Banglar Bari scheme. The state government has so far released Rs 7,200 crore in the first instalment, while the second instalment will be released by June 2025. The state government will cover an additional 16 lakh families in the second phase of the scheme. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, while speaking to the media, said that those left out of the first and second phases, they too would be identified and be given the money in phases. “We don’t want to deprive any one,” she said. (Related reports on Pg 3) India, France sign key accord to build advanced modular nuclear reactors, to deepen strategic ties NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 12 FEBRUARY India and France have added a new dimension to their partnership in the area of civil nuclear energy with a declaration of intent on establishment of a partnership on advanced modular reactors and small modular reactors. The decision which was announced on Wednesday is the outcome of bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Marseille. A joint statement outlining the way forward for India- France ties was adopted after the talks. According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), ten outcomes in the areas of Civil Nuclear Energy, Technology and Innovation, Triangular Cooperation, Environment, Culture and People to People relations were also finalised. The three agreements between India and France in the area of Civil Nuclear Energy are Declaration of Intent on establishment of partnership on Advanced Modular Reactors and Small Modular Reactors; Renewal of MoU between Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), India and Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives of France (CAE), France concerning cooperation with Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) and Implementing Agreement between DAE of India and CEA of France concerning cooperation between GCNEP India and Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology (INSTN) France. Among the other MoUs signed were a Declaration on Artificial Intelligence (AI); one for the Launch of the Logo for the India-France Year of Innovation 2026; a Letter of Intent between Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, France, to establish the Indo-French Centre for the Digital Sciences and an agree- ment for hosting 10 Indian Startups at the French Startup incubator Station F. India and France also signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on Triangular Development Cooperation, and Declaration of Intent between The Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, Marine Affairs and Fisheries and The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the field of environment. Reflecting the personal rapport between the two leaders, PM Modi and President Macron flew together from Paris to Marseille in the French Presidential Aircraft yesterday. They held talks on the full spectrum of bilateral relations and key global and regional issues. This was followed by delegationlevel talks in Marseille. The leaders reaffirmed their strong commitment to the IndiaFrance Strategic Partnership, which has steadily evolved into a multifaceted relationship over the past 25 years. ‘Are we not creating a class of parasites?’ SC takes a dig at freebies promised before polls PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 12 FEBRUARY In an apparent dig at the political parties for promising “freebies” before elections, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked whether, instead of bringing people into the mainstream for national development, “are we not creating a class of parasites?” The stinging observation on the freebies creating a new class of parasites came from a bench of Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih, saying it would be better to make people a part of the society's mainstream and contribute towards national development. “Rather than promoting them to be a part of the mainstream of the society by contributing to the development of the nation, are we not creating a class of parasites?”, the bench said, with Justice Gavai further observing: “Unfortunately, because of these freebies, which just non the anvil of elections are declared, like ‘Ladli Bahin’ and other schemes, people are not willing to work.” The observation from the bench came in the course of the hearing of a matter relating to the rights to shelter of homeless people in urban areas. As advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for a petitioner, said that there was hardly anybody in the country who did not want to work, if they had work, Justice Gavai said: “You must be having only one-sided knowledge. I come from an agricultural family. Because of freebies in The stinging observation on the freebies creating a new class of parasites came from a bench of Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih, saying it would be better to make people a part of the society's mainstream and contribute towards national development. Maharashtra which they just announced prior to elections, agriculturists are not getting labourers.” Refusing to enter into a debate on the issue, the court said that even Attorney General R Venkataramani feels that providing shelter to the homeless requires consideration. X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875
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