Mamata Banerjee announces housing programme for tea workers

Kolkata:  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced a slew of measures for the people ahead of the 2021 state assembly polls and said that her government will build brick houses for at least 3,694 workers in seven sick tea gardens in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts under the ‘Chai Sundari’ scheme.
Banerjee, in another announcement said that her government will regularise all refugee colonies in West Bengal, including those on land belonging to the state and the central governments.
From now on self attestation would be accepted in all government offices even for issuance of caste certificates, she said at an administrative review meeting with officials of the tea growing districts of Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri.
Work for building houses for tea workers of sick gardens will start within two months and the government will incur an expenditure of Rs 500 crore.
The project which has been named ‘Chai Sundari’ will be completed in three years, she said.
“We have planned the Chai Sundari scheme to build homes for the tea garden workers who have no homes. We have tried our best to help them but the tea garden workers are still neglected. People talk about their welfare whenever the elections are around. The tea workers have been demanding brick houses for a long time. Those workers who have no homes will be covered under the scheme,” she said.