KOLKATA: The West Bengal government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured full cooperation to the two central teams visiting the state for assessing the ground situation in the state in the wake of COVID-19 lockdown.
In a letter addressed to the Centre, the West Bengal also assured that it will abide by all its orders related to the ongoing lockdown and its flawless implementation.
In a letter to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said it was not correct to say that the two Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) have not been provided with any cooperation by the state government since he had two meetings with one team and also was in touch with the other.
“This is to convey my highest assurances for the implementation of the orders of central government issued under the Disaster Management Act as well as the directions of the Honb’le Supreme Court,” the state Chief Secretary told the Union Home Secretary.
“We are helping them. There’s no question of not doing that. But our stand is that we all are busy in fighting coronavirus… They cannot get information sitting in cars or at the guest house. We will share all information they want, taking time out of our busy schedule, but we will not be able to roam around with the central team shutting all our work,” Sinha had told reporters at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
Sinha’s comments came after the Union Home Ministry said the West Bengal government was not cooperating with the central teams visiting the state for on-the-spot assessment of the COVID-19 situation.
The arrival of two teams from Delhi, without prior information, for an on-the-spot assessment of the COVID-19 situation has become the latest flashpoint between the Centre and the state government.
In a letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary Sinha, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla had said it has been brought to the notice of the ministry that the two inter-ministerial central teams, visiting Kolkata and Jalpaiguri, have not been provided with the requisite cooperation by the state and local authorities.
He said despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi protesting the visit of the central teams to West Bengal, he met the representatives at the state secretariat on Monday and met them again on Tuesday morning at the place where they have put up.
The Centre decided to send two teams to West Bengal to assess the ground situation in the wake of reports that the lockdown measures were not being fully implemented in the TMC-ruled state.
Bureau Report
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