Suvendu announces ₹1,200 crore allocation for Ghatal Master Plan to mitigate floods

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. File | Photo Credit: PTI West BengalChief MinisterSuvendu Adhikari on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) announced that ₹1,200 crore would be allocated in the current financial year for the Ghatal Master Plan to mitigate recurring floods.He also directed officials and local MLAs to expedite the work for the master plan.The CM was addressing a gathering after paying tributes to Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on his 207th birth anniversary at his birthplace, Birsingha in Ghatal of Paschim Medinipur district."We will allocate ₹1,200 crore for the Ghatal Master Plan this financial year. The Centre will provide 50% of the funds, and the State government will bear the remaining costs."We will receive some funds from the Disaster Management Department for procuring land for the master plan. We have asked local MLAs to expedite work on the master plan," Adhikari said.He said the work under the master plan should be carried out on a war footing after Durga Puja and completed by June next year, before the monsoon season begins.Mr. Adhikari also criticised the previous TMC government for its "faulty policies", which he said led to West Bengal slipping to 31st place among States and Union territories in the education sector.He said West Bengal also ranked very high in child marriage and was competing with Jammu and Kashmir for the dubious distinction."Today, because of the previous government's wrong policies, we are not in the top 10 in education... We are at 31st in the country. We are also competing with Jammu and Kashmir in child marriage. We have around 60,000 adolescent mothers, of whom 13,000 are in Murshidabad and 9,000 in South 24 Parganas. There are instances in this district [Paschim Medinipur] as well," he said.Ghatal Master Plan, estimated to be worth around ₹1,500 crore, is aimed at mitigating recurring floods in the region by improving drainage and channelising excess water through canals and rivers into the Rupnarayan River.It covers 11 blocks and five municipalities across Purba and Paschim Medinipur districts, spanning five assembly and three Lok Sabha constituencies. The area covered by the plan is around 1,659 sq km.It was originally estimated at ₹50 crore, but the project remained unimplemented for nearly five decades, and its projected cost rose to around ₹1,500 crore. Published - September 30, 2026 04:40 pm IST