A statement issued by the Raj Bhavan said, “Grievances and suggestions so received will be acted upon immediately. During the panchayat elections last year, the Governor opened a ‘Peace Room’ in the Raj Bhavan that received thousands of representations from the public that resulted in prompt action. The Governor was accessible 24×7 over telephone and e-mail during the panchayat election days.”
It was also announced that the Governor’s motorcade or ‘Mobile Raj Bhavan’ would hit the streets before 6 am on polling days “On (Saturday) the day of the declaration of the Lok Sabha election dates, the Governor started his ground zero visit with a trip to a school in Howrah that is a conventionally a polling booth. Avoiding a large motorcade, the Governor travelled in a Toto [e-rickshaw], interacting with people on the way,” the statement said.
Governor Bose has said that his priority during the coming election will be to “put down violence and corruption” in the process. He said that the people of West Bengal deserve “peace and transparency in election”. The Governor is understood to be in touch with the Election Commission in New Delhi. Sandeep Rajput, Officer on Special Duty to the Governor, will be nodal officer of the ‘Log Sabha’,” it added.
On Saturday, Governor Bose gave assent to two Bills that proposed a hike in the salaries of MLAs and ministers in the state. The Governor gave his assent to the Bengal Legislative Assembly (Members’ Emoluments) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the West Bengal Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2023 on Saturday. According to a statement, the Bills were passed in the state Assembly in September last year, but the hikes could not be implemented as Bose did not give his assent. Following the hike, the pay of MLAs will increase from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 a month. The ministers will get Rs 50,900 a month instead of their earlier salary of Rs 10,900. The monthly salaries of Cabinet ministers will be raised from Rs 11,000 to Rs 51,000, they said.
Sandeshkhali: Expert team to conduct study on land utilisation
Governor C V Ananda Bose has constituted a team of experts to conduct a study of the lands in Sandeshkhali that were illegally grabbed from villagers and turned into fish farms, and suggest ways to utilise them.
An official in the Raj Bhavan said that Bose, during a recent visit to New Delhi, went to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and held discussions with experts on the matter. He then constituted the committee, which includes former secretary of the department of agriculture, cooperation and farmers’ welfare, S K Pattanayak, and a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) expert to study the issue and suggest ways of land utilisation in Sandeshkhali, the official said.