Bengal is changing radically, and there’s more to come: Amit Mitra

As the country’s GDP was growing at 7.3% in 2015-16, West Bengal was sprinting at 12%. Its index of industrial production was clocking 10.2%, the services sector 13.2% and agriculture 5.5%. In comparison, the country’s farm sector nearly stagnated at 1.1% during this period while services and industry returned growths of 9.2% and 7.3%, respectively.
Numbers came out thick and fast when West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra spoke on the state’s “transformation” under Mamata rule. The economist-turned-politician was in conversation with journalist Suman Chattopadhyay at the Times Lit Fest on Saturday on Bengal’s “second renaissance”.
“West Bengal has achieved a doubling of taxes in four years, which is unprecedented anywhere,” said Mitra, characteristically clad in dhoti, reeling off more numbers to drive home the pace of change in the state. “As many as 23,000km of highways have been built, 10,000km of rural roads, 6,000 new primary schools , 46 colleges, 15 universities and 81 polytechniques.”
These numbers tell a story of change in the erstwhile Red bastion that the national media has largely ignored, he lamented. Take work culture, Mitra said the state that was notorious for its lack of professionalism during the Left Front rule was a different place today.
“We had 94% attendance during a bandh day after Mamata declared that absentee staff would have their day’s salary as well as a single-day’s retirement benefits cut,” Mitra said.
“It’s changes such as these that’s now attracting IT companies to Bengal. Cognizant employs 17,000 people in Kolkata, TCS has 13,000 emplyees there and is adding another 20,000. MNCs such as BASF are setting up base in the state,” he said.
Speaking on women’s empowerment, Mitra alluded to the state’s Kanyashree scheme. “While the Centre has allocated Rs 100 crore for Beti Bachao, Beti Padao, we set aside Rs 1000 crore for Kanyashree. Around 40 lakh bicycles have been distributed to girls,” he said.
Mitra however chose not to respond when a woman in the audience sought to know why the Trinamool Congress government, which had devised novel schemes for women, was supporting the practice of triple talaq. “I don’t want to comment on this forum,” the minister said, prompting Chattopadhyay to remark that Mitra too, along with changing Bengal, was transforming into a politician.