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CPI(M) launches anti-corruption drive!
by Gautam Ghosh

     Kolkata: Unable to root out corruption among party cadres in Bengal, the CPI(M) leadership has apparently decided to launch an anti-corruption drive at the government level with a view to making the administration more transparent. This was evident from land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah's on-going battle with his departmental officials who have been refusing to cooperate with him to realise a number of demands regarding salaries and promotion. Mollah, who has vowed to quit the Left Front cabinet, is believed to have the full backing of both chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and state CPI(M) secretary Anil Biswas. According to informed sources, Mollah decided to enter into a collision course with his departmental officials after he learnt about rampant corruption in land revenue collection. "The level of corruption has crossed all limits. It is my duty as a political executive to set things right before it is too late," he observed after rejecting the officers' charter of demands. The aggrieved officers, on their part, have started distributing leaflets about the minister, creating an uproar in the state administration.

     The land and land reforms minister's candid confession about administrative corruption came shortly after the chief minister talked about corrupt practices among a section of state police at a recent public function. Bhattacharjee, who also holds the home portfolio, told a policemen's conference that they must not indulge in any form of corruption and stop hobnobbing with criminals for monetory gains. He also urged them to discharge their duties impartially without showing any kind of favour to the ruling party workers. Mollah apparently took a cue from the chief minister's stand regarding administrative corruption and has hit a hornets' nest by challenging the corrupt officials of his own department. He has given the officials and workers of his department a fortnight's time to augment revenue collection and improve the rate of attendance. The fact that both the chief minister and Mollah intend to deal with corrupt officials with a firm hand became apparent additional district magistrates of North and South 24 Parganas were removed from their posts in connection with rampant filling up of water-bodies in the two districts at the behest of some unscrupulous realtors.

      The state government decided to transfer the concerned district officials following a series of complaints from local residents about illegal construction of highrises by promoters by filling water-bodies. While the additional district magistrate of North 24 Parganas was transferred to Bankura, his counterpart in South 24 Parganas has been sent to Purulia. The Bengal government has also chalked out a master plan to protect agricultural land from the realtors who are trying to lure the farmers of Rajarhat in North 24 Parganas to sell their land. The builders intend to raise housing complexes on these agricultural plots adjacent to New Town which is coming up as a full-fledged township with all modern amenities. Land prices at Rjarhat have been going up steadily ever since the land sharks became active in the area. All this has prompted housing minister Goutam Deb to form a high- level committee to bring necessary changes in the existing Land Act in order to contain the unlawful building activities and saveguard environment. Deb feels the development process at Rajarhat will be seriously hampered if the builders are allowed to go scot-free.

      Sources said the Bengal CPI(M)'s inner-party fight against corruption was also reflected in its decision not to promote transport minister Subhas Chakraborty to the state secretariat, the party's core policy-making body, in view of his alleged association with persons of questionable character and open support to realtors. Chakraborty, who enjoys former chief minister Jyoti Basu's blessings, failed to get the coveted berth in the secretariat mainly due to opposition from Bhattacharjee and Biswas and their close associates. Bhattacharjee's current anti-corruption stand is in sharp contrast to that taken by his predecessor Basu during his tenure. Late land and land reforms minister and politburo member Benoy Chowdhury had incurred Basu's wrath by describing the then Left Front government as a "government of the contractors, for the contractors and by the contractors." Chowdhury, whose personal honesty and integrity was never questioned in the party, had to put in his papers as he refused to give up his anti-corruption stand.

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