The CPI(M), with the passage of The West Bengal Panchayat (Amendment) Bill, 2007, on Monday widened the scope of setting up ‘markets, shopping complexes and haats’ in urban areas.
The bill, placed by Surya Kanta Mishra, panchayat and rural development minister, was opposed by the Forward Bloc, the CPI-M’s partner in the Left Front.
The party requested the minister to send the bill to the select committee. But Mishra rejected the proposal of the Forward Bloc MLA, Doli Roy.
Bloc leaders, who were opposing Relliance’s entry into retail business, said that the CPIM) was trying to encroach the authorities of both the state marketing board and the agricultural marketing department.
Mishra told the House that after the bill was passed, the zila parishads (district councils) would be empowered to acquire, construct and maintain haats, shopping complexes and markets for the benifit of the people of the area.
“Zila parishads may also construct or maintain a haat and market agriculture produces as well as products of local artisans and self-help groups of the surrounding rural areas and may spend fund and levy charges for maintenance of such haats or markets,” the amendment bill stated.
Earlier, the state marketing department had issued an order that no other authority except the state marketing board will be allowed to set up any market within the 10-km radius of any regulated market.
“It is not only an encrochment of marketing department’s authority, the big brother has adopted a
policy to turn the people of the state into slaves,”
said Forward Bloc’s farm front leader Hafiz Alam Sairani.
But, Mishra was cautious in responding to Bloc’s allegations. “We have no such intention. We only want to resolve some legal problems between the municipal authorities and the panchayat bodies,” he said.
Mishra’s arguments, however failed to convince Bloc. Sairani said that the CPI(M) is planning to ensure safe and legal passage
for MNCs and big capital
in West Bengal’s rural markets.
“We will continue to oppose the Bill. The distance between the CPI(M) and Bloc has widened further with the bill passed in the Assembly,” said Sairani.
Bloc sources said its leader Ashok Ghosh had called up Left Front charman Biman Bose on Sunday to stall the bill. Bose also assured
Ghosh that the bill would be referred to the select committee.
“This is unfortunate that the bill was passed even after Bose’s assurance,” said Sairani.
