Bengal Government Orders Cost Cut for Chief Ministerial Meetings, Faces Challenges

The public works department has been ordered by the cash-strapped Bengali government to reduce the cost of establishing infrastructure for chief ministerial meetings in districts to Rs 45 lakh, but officials are finding it difficult to accomplish this goal.

According to a source, the PWD started the project in order to save money while Mamata Banerjee was on her current trip of north Bengal. The insider said, "But it looks the target would not be achieved as a number of helipads and connecting roads are being constructed to meet the chief minister's security protocol."

Mamata was the one who decided to set the spending cap at a reasonable amount, according to a source. The source said, "The chief minister was not happy to learn that the PWD needs to spend almost Rs 1.25 crore on average to set up infrastructure at a meeting venue."

When Mamata visits a district, the PWD is in charge of setting up accommodations at the meeting location and her overnight stay.

However, the district authorities spend a lot of money on the transportation, housing, and food needs of the security personnel and officials. Additionally, the districts pay for the recipients of the government's welfare programs to be transported to the meeting location as well as refreshments.

"The PWD builds and maintains the roads that link the site, as well as installs security barriers when necessary, and puts up the dais and hangars for the audience. The cost of building a temporary helipad and the associated road is added to the overall cost if the chief minister arrives at the location by helicopter. The helipad costs around Rs 25 lakh, and if roads are built to link it to the site, the total cost might be as much as Rs 50 lakh. According to a source, the whole cost of building up a venue's infrastructure might exceed Rs 1.5 crore.

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