By Mithun Dasgupta, IANS,
Kolkata : From rice at Rs.2 per kg for the poor to an ’employment bank’ for job seekers, West Bengal’s political parties have doled out economic sops to sway voters. All parties have pledged to hasten industrial growth in an industry-starved state.
All the major parties are promising to tackle issues of poverty and unemployment and to unfold a land acquisition policy for setting up industries. The ruling Left Front’s manifesto says the combine would improve the condition of the poor and take initiatives to increase the income of four million poorest families.
If voted back to power, the Left Front will provide rice at Rs.2 per kg to families earning below Rs.10,000 a month.
It has promised to bring essential commodities like pulses, edible oil, sugar and biscuits under the public distribution system (PDS).
The Trinamool Congress says its will determine the number of people living below the poverty line and within five years enforce policies to reduce the number by at least 10 percent. The Congress promises to make the self-employment schemes of the central government more effective.
It would also focus on formulating a special job scheme for the unemployed youths who had registered their names five years ago.
The Trinamool Congress says an ’employment bank’ will be set up to provide guidelines to those seeking jobs in government and private sectors. It has vowed to increase productivity in agriculture by adopting high-quality technology.
The party will ensure adequate price to farmers for their products while technology upgrade will be carried out in pulses and oil-seed production to attain self-sufficiency.
The Left Front states that food production will be increased by 25 percent and improved scientific technology will be used in cultivation.
The Congress will take care of the interests of agriculturists and farm workers by building a marketing federation to distribute farm produce.
The Left Front, which has been in power since 1977, promises to enhance the pace of industrial growth by setting up industrial clusters of small-scale and handicraft industries and give emphasis on manufacturing, IT, petrochemical and biotech sectors.
The Trinamool says it will set up a ‘Single Window System’ through which permission for building new industries will be given within 200 days.
The Trinamool manifesto, which has a corporate look, says its action agenda for the first 200 days after coming to power would be to rejuvenate the small industries, revive traditional handicraft clusters and empower the informal sector.
The Congress says the party will prepare a new industrial policy. A land bank will be set up with consensus being the key word in land acquisition.
The Trinamool says it will not acquire land on the basis of the ‘draconian act’ of 1894 and will desist from setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
It says a ‘Bengal Land Bank Authority’ will be set up to formulate a policy regarding planning and implementation to earmark land for long-term industrialisation.
The Congress roots for a fair and comprehensive policy on land acquisition. A part of the profit from the industry should go to the land losers.
The six-phase assembly elections start April 18 and end May 10.
(Mithun Dasgupta can be contacted at [email protected])