The development of the poor people will be the focus of the 8th Left Front Government in West Bengal, said Biman Basu while releasing the election manifesto of the Left Front.
The manifesto has mentioned about three most important goals of the 8th Left Front Government. First and foremost is to elevate the standard of living of the families below poverty line. Employability of these sections will also be a priority. Secondly the 8th Left Front Government will target to take West Bengal in a leading position in the country on the basis of three human development index i.e., purchasing power, education and health. Thirdly by extending agriculture, industry and other different services, the 8th Left Front Government will work for the employment and income generation of the poorest 40 lakh families of the state. Altogether this will formulate the direction of the comprehensive development of West Bengal.
The manifesto elaborates 10 specific programs to attain these three fundamental goals. It says that people having family income below Rs.10000/- will be getting rice @ Rs. 2/- per K.G. successively within five years. Some daily necessities like pulses, sugar, edible oil, cloth, and biscuit will successively be taken under the purview of public distribution system. To prevent distress sale by the farmers the State Government will buy rice from within the state by giving them assistance price. To provide cooked food for the helpless poor families the ‘sahai’ (assistance) program will be further extended.
Besides carrying on the program of distributing land, multistoried buildings will be constructed for the displaced and homeless people. In the urban areas same types of building will be constructed in the project of giving land for dwelling.
Security, provident fund scheme, insurance and social protection of all contractual staff, unorganized labors and farm based labors will be further extended and will include all concerned people. Allowances for the poor people will be increased both in amount and number of recipients. The Government will also ensure the strict implementation of announced reservation in educational field and work places.
To pull down the school drop out to less than 1% Government will provide financial assistance. Side by side all girl students up to class XII including the tribal, schedule caste, other backward communities and minorities will receive special allowances for dress and cycle successively within five years. Students of class XI and XII residing more than 5 kilometers away from their school will get the privilege to travel in government and private busses once a day.
The 8th Left Front Government will draw up and implement an Act on public health. The common people will get free treatment through insurances and health protection schemes under this Act. The government will also identify the common and life-taking diseases. All poor families of the state will be brought under health insurance and the government will pay the premium to the insurance companies. Within the next five years every districts will have at least one medical college and nursing college.
The 8th Left Front Government will constitute a special power mission to supply safe drinking water or each family. All families will also get toilets.
Every big villages and urban slums will be connected by concrete road. Other roads of the villages will also be concretized successively. Beside planned urbanization, a special committee will be constituted for consolidated development of the slum areas.
Every home will get electric connection. Every pump sets used for agriculture will get electric connection. If those pump sets are used between the stipulated time announced by the Government the electricity charge will also be subsidized. To meet the demand of electricity in industry and other sectors the generation of electricity will be increased to further 4000 megawatt.
The 8th Left Front Government will work out the procedures for eliminating the existing barriers in the process of offering government services to the common people. To ensure the commitment to the people necessary administrative reforms will be executed. The annual performance of the cabinet ministers will be evaluated and necessary actions will be taken as per that. All administrative stratums have to be free from corruption. In all the stages administration and police have to convene all party meeting. They have to listen to the suggestions and advice of the peoples’ representatives.
The manifesto of the Left Front also declares that the 8th Left Front Government will double its fund allocation for the development of tribal, schedule caste, other backward communities, minorities, refugee, women, north Bengal, Sundarbans and Pashchimanchal area. Programs will also be chalked out for hands on work of the people of these sections.
