West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday accused the previous Trinamool Congress government of neglecting the Sundarbans and said his government had made a special budget allocation of Rs 1,200 crore for about 1.24 lakh people in the region.
Adhikari said tenders had been floated for 553 projects in the first phase, while 2,649 projects would be taken up in the second phase. The plans include roads, drainage systems, culverts, jetties, electric-powered boats and support for fisheries and agriculture.
Addressing a programme in the Sundarbans after an administrative meeting, Adhikari claimed that work worth only about Rs 200 crore was carried out in 2025-26 against an allocation of Rs 600 crore. He alleged that 80 per cent of the funds had been "siphoned off".
"You know what the previous government did. The Sundarbans was neglected," he said.
"The BJP government has made a special allocation of Rs 1,200 crore in the budget. Tenders have been floated for 553 works in the first phase. Work on all these projects will commence soon," Adhikari said, according to PTI.
The chief minister said 1,169 road projects worth Rs 1,406.34 crore had been planned, along with drainage work and the construction of 110 culverts.
He said the government would build five concrete jetties and another jetty for vehicles and cargo to improve connectivity to remote islands. The government has also earmarked Rs 100 crore for electric-powered boats to reduce the carbon footprint of tourism in the region.
Adhikari said Rs 17 crore had been set aside for fisheries and 1,931 people were being trained in crab fattening. He added that 13,877 farmers would receive battery-operated sprayers to improve farm productivity.
Accusing the previous government of misleading people about the proposed bridge over the Muriganga river, Adhikari said, "I promise you that I will inaugurate it in 2029."
The chief minister said the planned projects and budget allocations would cover infrastructure, connectivity, tourism, fisheries and agriculture in the Sundarbans.
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With PTI inputs