NEWS
30-08-2017
•  In light of the revelations by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today evening, demonetisation has emerged as a flop show and points towards a scam, Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated. She pointed out that according to the report, 99% of the demonetized currency has come back to the RBI and only one per cent has not returned. The Hon’ble Chief Minister pointed out that hundreds of people lost their lives and crores of common people - farmers, workers, those engaged in informal sector, small enterprises and other most vulnerable sections of society suffered massive pain. Due to this “Notebandi”, the Nation has lost Rs.3 lakh crore of GDP in the fourth quarter alone, she informed. She stated that demonetisation was supposedly done to uncover several lakhs of crores of black money while the result shows that it has been a failure. She questioned the Centre if the system deliberately was set up by Government of India to facilitate dealers of black money to convert black money into white in lakhs of crores? She also informed that since the demonetisation issue has been referred to the Constitution Bench, the humble prayer of the people would be that the Hon'ble Supreme Court provides justice to the people of this country.
29-08-2017
•  On the occasion of National Sports Day, Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended her heartiest congratulations to all State, National and International sportspersons. She also informed that the FIFA Under-17 World Cup India 2017 grand final along with several matches will be played in Kolkata.

•   Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today chaired a meeting with political parties from the Hills to end the ongoing impasse in the Darjeeling Hills and restore normalcy in the region. Three major political parties (GJM, JAP and GNLF), were present at the meeting alongside Hon’ble and senior officials of the State Government. After the meeting, the Hon’ble Chief Minister said that a dialogue process has been initiated to restore normalcy in the Hills and bring back peace in the region. The next meeting will be held on September 12 in Uttarkanya, she said. The Hon’ble Chief Minister said that the State Government is in favour of restoring peace and normalcy in the Hills. Tea, tourism, transport sectors have been hampered, as a result, she said.

•   In a press conference at Nabanna, Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee informed that IT major Infosys will invest Rs 100 crore in the state and set up a 50-acre campus in Rajarhat, near Kolkata. The Hon’ble Chief Minister clarified that Infosys will not be given SEZ status, as per the State’s policy; but will be eligible for other benefits. She said that this will create thousands of jobs in the state.
25-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee chaired a meeting of the Task Force to combat price rise of daily necessary food items, at Nabanna. She requested members of task force to take necessary measures so that there is no rise in the prices of essential commodities ahead of Durga Puja and other festivals. She also suggested several measures to reduce the gap between prices of vegetables in wholesale and retail markets.

•   ‘Anurodher Asor’ – song request programme – featuring veteran singers and musicians was held at Nazrul Mancha today in presence of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In the programme, the journey to the world of glorious Bengali songs including Puja releases began today with renditions by some of the best known voices. Hon’ble Chief Minister informed that music lovers can now listen to wonderful songs and relive the memory of the famous radio programme. On this day, a CD of songs, “Matri Ma”, written and composed by the Hon’ble Chief Minister and sung by Indranil Sen, Lopamudra Mitra, Raghav Chatterjee, Rupankar Bagchi and Monomoy Bhattacharyya, was released. CDs of many eminent singers with wonderful collection of songs were also released on the occasion.
24-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s ruling that the right to privacy is a fundamental right. In a landmark judgment, a nine-judge Constitution Bench unanimously held that right to privacy is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
23-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today chaired a meeting to review the preparatory arrangements for FIFA U-17 World Cup in India, at Nabanna. To be held from 8th October to 28th October, the FIFA U-17 World Cup is going to be one of the biggest festivals of football ever seen in Kolkata. Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director of the Local Organising Committee and his colleagues, officials of AIFF, IFA, SAI along with Ministers and senior officials were present at the meeting. The Host City Logo, depicting FIFA and Biswa Bangla together, was launched today after the meeting. Hon’ble Chief Minister informed that a global event of this scale is being organised for the first time in Kolkata. As a collective team, the State Government will put in best efforts to make the U-17 World Cup an overwhelming success, she said.

•   Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today chaired a meeting with organisers of Durga Puja in the city. Representatives of all religions were also present in the meeting held at Netaji Indoor Stadium.
22-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today held a press conference at the State secretariat, Nabanna, to announce that the president of the central committee of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) has written to the West Bengal Government, asking for a high-level intervention to end the present crisis in the Hill areas of Darjeeling and has humbly requested for talks to restore peace and normalcy in the Hills. The Hon’ble Chief Minister said that the Government, ever eager to bring normalcy to the Darjeeling and the entire Hills region, has decided to respond positively to the request, setting August 29 as the date for a meeting at which not only GNLF but all major Hill parties will be invited to join. The meeting will be held at Nabanna from 4 pm. She said that the representatives of the development boards in the Hills will also be invited for a meeting. She said that the Government is in favour of peace, normalcy and development. She informed that earlier she had chaired a meeting with all the chairpersons of the Hill development boards. She appealed to all the people of the Hills to cooperate with the Government to restore peace and normalcy there. Working together is essential for the development of the Hills and of the State as a whole, she said.
21-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today visited flood-affected areas of Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur districts of North Bengal. She had made similar visits to flood affected places of South Bengal also previously. To ensure that relief materials reach all and repair and restoration work are carried out in full swing, the Hon’ble Chief Minister chaired a meeting with concerned officials after the visit. Later, while addressing the press at the Malda Municipality headquarters, the Hon’ble Chief Minister urged all to stand beside the distressed people in their hour of need – to shelter them, to look after their needs.
17-08-2017
•  ‘Jayo Hey’, the annual cultural event of Kolkata Police was held in Netaji Indoor Stadium today. Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present on the occasion. In a packed stadium, sportspersons and police officers were felicitated for outstanding contribution. Beautiful performances by many celebrated artistes, various performers and members of the Force won the hearts of all.
15-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wished all on the occasion of the 71st Independence Day which was observed in a befiiting manner throughout the State. The ceremonial march past and celebration of Independence Day was held at Red Road, Kolkata today. Contingents from police, personnel in uniform, school students, cultural and sports groups, tableaus from various departments on themes like Safe Drive Save Life, Kanyashree, Saboojshree, Sabujsathi, Khadyasathi, Biswa Bangla and so many others took part in the beautiful event attended by a huge enthusiastic gathering and distinguished persons from all walks of life. Outstanding police officers were decorated with Police Medals for distinguished service. A presentation on the theme "Ekotai Sampriti" by distinguished artistes and celebrities was an added attraction.
14-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed the Government’s concern about the flood situation across the country. She informed that earlier floods had affected South Bengal and presently North Bengal is also affected. She informed that the Government is monitoring the situation 24X7 for relief and rescue operations.
10-08-2017
•  On a visit to Delhi, Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid a courtesy visit to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and met the newly-elected Hon’ble President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
08-08-2017
•  The West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday passed the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Bill, 2017. While speaking at the State Assembly, Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee informed that the State Government had “no option” but to issue the Ordinance on GST as otherwise, the state would not have been able to conduct any treasury operation. She said that the State Government was clearly against the hasty implementation of the new tax regime and had urged the Centre to postpone it by two months. The Government, she said, needed money to pay salaries, make developmental expenditure and others. As the ordinance had a definite lifetime, it had to be ultimately ratified by the State Assembly. She said owing to many objections raised by Hon’ble State Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra at the GST Council meetings, taxes on many items of common use had been lowered. Later, the Hon’ble Chief Minister once again requested political parties in Darjeeling Hills to shun violence so that common people could get some respite from the indefinite shutdown. Urging the political parties to hold discussions with the State Government over its demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland, she told the Assembly that schools, offices and tourism have come to a halt due to the bandh in the Hills and the region has suffered huge loss.

•   Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present in the Annual Awards Ceremony of the CAB today at Netaji Indoor Stadium. Former captain of the Indian Cricket team, Sourav Ganguly along with a galaxy of cricketers, sports personalities and sports loving people were present on the occasion. Former Team India captain Jhulan Goswami, Bengal Under 19 Men's Team, Bengal Senior Men's Team, cricketer Manoj Tiwary, coach Palash Nandy and a host of cricketers were conferred awards for outstanding performance on the day.
03-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said the Centre was not providing any support for the ‘man-made floods’ that have left many of the districts badly affected in Bengal. She said roads, embankments and bridges have been hit and either washed away or badly damaged due to the floods in the affected areas.
02-08-2017
•  On the second day of her visit to North Bengal Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a high-level meeting of the Tribal Advisory Council at Uttar Kanya in Siliguri. The Hon’ble Chief Minister informed that the distributions of pattas in the tea-garden areas are in North Bengal are on process. She also informed that an advisory council is being formed to bring all the developmental projects of the Backward Class development under one umbrella. Later she released a trilingual Santhali dictionary (Santhali-English-Bengali). This dictionary is a first-of-its-kind for the preservation, protection and development of the language.
01-08-2017
•  Hon’ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed a public meeting at the Alorani ground at Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur district today after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of a bouquet of developmental projects for the district. She inaugurated the statue of Rai Saheb Thakur Panchanan Barma from today’s programme and laid the foundation stone for the medical college and hospital in Raiganj .Among the projects inaugurated were government buildings, boys’ hostels, water supply projects. She laid the foundation stones of projects like two power sub-stations, government buildings, housing projects, road projects and hostels for boys and girls. She also distributed benefits under Sabuj Sathi, Siksha Shree, Geetanjali and other schemes. Later the Hon’ble Chief Minister chaired the district review meeting for North Dinajpur and took stock of the progress of development schemes in the district with district officials, public representatives, authorities of private healthcare facilities and schools, chambers of commerce in presence of Departmental Secretaries and senior officials. Students of Raiganj University were present in the meeting to have a first-hand experience of this unique administrative exercise of the Government.