TAX FREE ZONE

Tax Free Zone demand for North Bengal

The demand to declare North Bengal as a tax free zone rose again. Today, the Tax Free Zone Demand Committee for North Bengal sent a memorandum to the Union Finance Minister, P Chidambaram requesting him to consider the longstanding demand.

The general secretary of the Tax Free Zone Demand Committee for North Bengal, Rajendra Kumar Baid said that they were struggling for a long to establish North Bengal as a tax free zone. It is necessary to boost up the industry sector of the region and also to combat the unemployment problem. A large number of local unemployed youths go to outer provinces as they fail to get jobs here. If ne industrial units come up here the situation may change for a good, he opined.

Arguing in favour of their demand, the TFZDC-NB general secretary said that Sikkim and the Northeastern states enjoy the facility but the corridor of these two regions, the North Bengal still fighting to get the justified status. In the memorandum they urged the Union Finance Minister to include the matter in the next Union budget for the greater interest of the people of North Bengal.

MP-LAD SCAM

MP-LAD scam : accused remanded in jail custody

Pradip Chakraborty, the main accused in the MP-LAD scam in Cooch Behar
was produced in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Sandip Kumar
Manna today and was remanded in judicial custody till 27 February. The
court received no prayer for his release under bail today. He will be
produced again in the court on 27 February.

It may be mentioned here that the District magistrate of Cooch Behar,
Mohan Gandhi filed an FIR against Chakraborty who is an employee of
his office. After lodging of the FIR on 11 January, Chakraborty
absconded. He was arrested from a house at Jamaldaha in Mekhliganj
sub-division on 29 January. On the next day he was produced to the
court of the CJM in Cooch behar and was remanded in police custody for
14 days.

Cooch Behar MP (Lok Sabha), Nripendra Nath Roy brought an allegation
to the DM against misappropriation of his Local Area Development fund
(MP-LAD fund). Considering the seriousness of the allegation, the DM
lodged an FIR against the employee who deals the matter for years,
Soon after it, Chakraborty absconded. Meanwhile, another MP (Rajya
Sabha), Tarinai Roy too came out with allegation of misappropriation
of his MP-LAD fund. The DM ordered a departmental inquiry into the
matter. The CID also took over the case from the Cooch Behar District
Police and started a thorough probe into the scam.

Manas Bhuina at Circuit House in Cooch Behar on Sunday.

COOCH BEHAR UNIVERSITY

New university to function soon : Education minister

Classes in the new university in Cooch Behar (Panchanan Barma University) will start in 2013 educational session. State Education minister Bratya Basu announced it in Cooch Behar on Thursday afternoon. He came here to inaugurate a workshop organised on teachers' training for the working teachers of the government primary schools.

 

The Education minister said that the Chief Minister wanted the university as early as possible in Cooch Behar and so she laid the foundation of it during her visit to Cooch Behar. She also wanted the university to start functioning from the 2013 educational session. According to that decision the classes in the new university will start from 2013 educational session. Basu said that they already appointed a vice-chancellor for the university and he has been entrusted to develop the infrastructure of the university. After receiving green signal from the vice-chancellor the state government will come forward to do the needful. "We are ready and we are waiting for the green signal from the VC", he said.

 

The education minister also recalled his visit to Cooch Behar with the CM to attend the foundation ceremony of the university and also to visit the proposed sites at Khalisamari and Ghughumari. He hoped that the new university will turn to a famous seat of learning in entire North Bengal in near future. It would be able to change the educational map of the region.