Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s announcement of plans to make the Sundarbans a separate district has been welcomed across political lines.
“Sundarbans will emerge as a separate district in 2016, well before the Durga Puja, which will give the much needed administrative focus to the region,” Banerjee said, speaking at a function in Sandeshkhali region of South 24 Parganas district.
The chief minister also announced the creation of two more districts, by dividing the Burdwan district into two — rural and industrial — and Jhargram, also to be formed as a separate district in the coming year.
The Sundarbans is an archipelago comprising 104 islands — on the Indian side of the delta, which is also a Unesco World Heritage site. Of these, 54 are inhabited by a population of close to five million. The islands, which are home to mangrove forests, have a natural coverage of approximately 10, 000 square kilometres and are also home to about 76 tigers and a huge variety of fauna and flora.
“This is a very good move by the state government as the people of this region need more focused administrative help in comparison to other areas of the state, as it is more prone to ecological disasters,” Basudeb Banerjee, additional chief secretary of the state, said.
Officials said the infrastructural condition of the region is quite fragile, especially in areas like health, local transport and education and most believe that things will improve with the formation of the district.
“There are parts of the island, which fall under North 24 Parganas district and the remaining part in Sandeshkhali region of South 24 Parganas district which creates a major administrative hassle for the people,” an officer of the state home department said.
However, there was criticism from some sections of the administrative blocks, who said Banerjee had made the announcement without prior homework.
“Hardly any official work has been done for creation of these districts which also needs permission from the central government and often is time consuming. No one is sure whether a separate district can be created within a period of nine to ten months,” said an officer.
“During Banerjee’s rule since 2011, a new district of Alipurduar has been formed in 2013, but until now no administrative facilities have been developed including the main office for the district. they are still dependent on the old mechanism including salary, staff and administrative decision. Creating such facilities in the Sunbdarban region is even tougher and none is sure of a timeline,” said another officer.
