The Hindu Business Line : Bengal to address developmental issues in `campaign mode'

ACTING on the recommendations of economists, academicians, government servants, non-governmental organisations and people's representatives at the district level, the West Bengal Government will soon address select developmental issues in "campaign mode".

The recommendations were made by over 80 economists, NGOs, people's representatives, academicians and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, among others, who met here to discuss the recently-published West Bengal Human Development Report 2004.

Briefing newspersons on a conference that delved into the issues contained in the West Bengal Human Development Report 2004, the West Bengal's Minister for Industries, Mr Nirupam Sen, said the State would soon address select areas of concern in "campaign mode". These include nutritional inadequacy, especially in women and children, regional inequalities and employment generation in rural areas.

Mr Sen said the delivery mechanism pertaining to education and health services needed to be bolstered even as the effort would be to generate adequate resources so that the identified issues would be effectively addressed.

Speaking on the occasion, economist Ms Jayati Ghosh said the conference recognised West Bengal's achievements in areas such as land reforms, agricultural growth, law & order, etc. However, employment generation, public health and education and nutrition were areas of serious concern. Application of more public resources was absolutely essential, she said, and added that the need of the hour was "more generosity and less rigidity".

Decentralisation should facilitate greater handling of resources by panchayats. This would ensure that resources are deployed more efficiently. Ms Ghosh said the conference has recommended that the public delivery system pertaining to education and health services can be improved if they are under the control of panchayats. The idea was to effect a transition in the delivery system from bureaucratic control to a community control. It was also imperative to redeploy public workers.

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