Brimming with promises to revamp a wide range of sectors, including industry, agriculture, health and education, as well as bring about holistic development in the weaker sections of the society, the election manifesto that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee released here on Monday for the coming Assembly polls in the State appeared to draw a great deal from the United Progressive Alliance's promises in the 2009 polls.
The UPA-II set achievable targets for the first 100 days after formation of government, and the Trinamool Congress, along similar lines, has outlined a detailed description of its action agenda for within the first 200 as well as 1,000 days of governance, if it were voted to power.
In keeping with Ms. Banerjee's repeated assertion in the past that agriculture and industry were “twin sisters” who should be given equal importance, the manifesto proposes to bring about a “green revolution” in West Bengal through afforestation, employ advanced agricultural techniques to increase land fertility and crop productivity and distribution of land to poor farmers through a ‘land bank'.
Eager to shed the anti-industry image acquired by the party following the Singur movement in 2008, a significant portion of the manifesto was devoted to its vision of industrial revival and employment generation.
Interestingly, however, rather than promising to set up large industries in the first place, the thrust was towards developing micro, small and medium enterprises (SME), launch a cluster development drive for SMEs, reviving traditional handicraft cluster for export opportunities and develop agro-based industries.
Infrastructure development, tourism, sports, transport, rural and backward area development have also found mention in the manifesto with special packages proposed for North Bengal, the Sundarbans and the Jangal Mahal region.
Speaking at a press conference, Ms. Banerjee said the existing irrigation system would undergo an overhaul with a river-canal-pond-linking project in view. Reaching electricity and drinking water to every household in the State would be done in the next five years.
A revamping of the health sector was also proposed, through the setting up of more medical colleges and super-speciality hospitals at the district level as well as modernising the existing primary healthcare centres.
A holistic reform of the administration system, including making the administration impartial and releasing political prisoners from the State's correctional homes, were also addressed in the manifesto.
