Agartala, January 20, 2020: Illegal Rubber growers, social pension hike and MNREGA scam featured in Tripura Assembly. In Tripura Assembly today, Ministers informed the House that action would be taken against illegal rubber growers, social pension would be hiked if financial situation improves and steps taken on MNREGA scam.
Action against illegal rubber growers
IANS reports: The Tripura government will take action against the hundreds of rubber growers who illegally cultivated natural rubber on more than 21,019 acres of government land, a minister announced in the state assembly on Monday.
Replying to a question, Tripura Revenue Minister Narendra Chandra Debbarma said that the government has asked the District Magistrates and Sub-Divisional Magistrates to get the government lands vacated.
The Minister said that during the previous Left Front government 21,019 acres (or 8506 hectares) of government land across Tripura had been illegally allowed to cultivate natural rubber.
He said that the BJP-led government has taken initiative to amend the Tripura Land Records and Land Reforms Act, 1960, to prevent the misuse of government lands violating the law.
Debbarma also said that around 51,635 families had been residing in government lands in Tripura for the past many years. The issue saw heated debate in the state assembly on Monday.
Tripura is the second largest rubber producer in India after Kerala with 85,000 hectares of land under plantation, producing 68,000 tonnes of rubber annually. Tripura’s annual turnover from rubber cultivation is about Rs 700 crore.
Social pension, MNREGA scam
Enewstime desk adds: The state government, as promised in the vision document, is committed to increase the amount of social allowance to Rs. 2000, Social Welfare and Social Education Minister- Santana Chakma told the House today.
“As many as four lakh people are presently receiving the benefits of Social Security Scheme. The amount will be increased to Rs. 2000 if state’s financial condition improves,” she said in reply to a notice on urgent public importance moved by MLA Sushanta Chowdhury.
Six years old skeleton started rattling in the cupboard again as the Treasury bench raised the sensational MNREGA corruption issue –that once became a seriously embarrassing matter for the Left Front government in 2014- in the assembly today. The issue relating to the MNREGA corruption in Bishalgarh block –that touched at the face of it Rs 16 crore or more- was raised in the Assembly by BJP MLA Shambhu Lal Chakma as notice on a matter of urgent public importance.
Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma who also holds Rural Development portfolio in his reply to the notice informed the House in details as to how the corruption took place during previous Left Front regime and also came to fore following a complaint filed by one Gopal Chandra Bhadra to the chief secretary on January 25 2014.
He also spoke at length about the actions taken at the Chief Secretary, Fince Secretary and RD Secretary levels –initiating special audit and investigation.
Dev Varma told the House that a criminal case had been registered in the Bishalgarh police station under various IPC sections while five officers accused in the scam had surrendered in court.
