WB mini secretariat to be inaugurated by Mamata on Jan 20

A mini secretariat of the West Bengal government to decentralise the administration and speed up development programmes in north Bengal will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on January 20 near Siliguri.

After the Trinamool government came to power it was decided to set up a secretariat of the state government in North Bengal from where people had to come to Kolkata for important work, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a Facebook post today.

Stating that the mini secretariat named ‘Uttar Kanya’, was now ready, she said that it was a fully ‘green building’ built in a record time of less than a year.

“Uttar Kanya is our sweet gift to meet the long-standing demand of the people of North Bengal. I reiterate – fulfilment of commitment is our credential. We always do, what we say,” the chief minister said.

North Bengal Development Minister Gautam Deb said that the mini secretariat would be connected to state secretariat, Nabanna, through video conference facility.

Construction of the two-storey building with a total area of 60,000 sq ft at Fulbari on the outskirts of Siliguri started in late 2012 and cost around Rs 60 crore.

Banerjee’s visit to Darjeeling comes during a thaw in relationship between the Trinamool Congress government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

GJM president Bimal Gurung was sworn in agan as the chief executive of the hill council, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, in December after he had resigned from it last July prior to a spell of agitation in the hills for Gorkhaland.

Officials said that the chief minister, during a four day visit to Siliguri and Darjeeling would also inaugurate the Uttarbanga Utsav, the annual cultural festival at the Kanchenjungha Stadium.

She would attend national convention of the Tamang tribe at Mirik on January 21 and a police sports event at Lebong the next day.

She would also participate in programmes to celebrate the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Darjeeling on January 23.