Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Rs 11,200 crore investment proposals are in the pipeline for the Howrah district. "Howrah is witnessing a high tide in investment. I want to tell the youths that this district has already received investment proposals worth Rs 5,000 crore that has created employment opportunities for 67,000 people. Now if Rs 11,200 crore investment proposals are materialised that will create jobs for around 1.5 lakh people," the CM said at a programme on Thursday in Howrah's Panchla.
She said Howrah was once known as the 'land for industries' was destroyed during the Left Front's tenure. Currently, 40 per cent of the total industries of the state are housed in the Howrah district and the majority of these are in the small and medium sectors. An MSME hub has also been set up in this district, she said.
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In a bid to boost the industrial activities and generate employment, the government is creating three industrial corridors namely Dankuni-Kalyani, Dankuni-Raghunathpur and Dankuni-Haldia in the state, she said. Speaking about the government's initiative to provide services and schemes at the doorsteps of people, Mamata said a total of nine crore applications have been received under the 'Duare Sarkar' outreach programme of which seven crore people have already received various services. To ensure that nobody is deprived of the government services, camps are being conducted across the state.
Inaugurating a host of projects on the occasion, she said one crore cycles have already been distributed to Class IX students and another 10 lakh cycles are ready for the current batch. On the occasion, she handed over motorcycles to 392 forest personnel as well as announced a mini-zoo on five acres in New Town and beautification of 'Sabuj Deep' in Hooghly's Balagarh. Furthermore, a new cancer unit at Sagar Dutta Medical College and two critical care units in Diamond Harbour Medical College were inaugurated. The CM also inaugurated a bridge and an underpass in Kona Expressway area to ease traffic congestion.
