₹1,200 Crore for Ghatal Master Plan: CM Suvendu

• ₹1,200 crore announced for Ghatal Master Plan this financial year.
• Centre and West Bengal to share the proposed funding equally.
• Project targeted for completion by June 2027.
• Plan aims to reduce recurring floods across Ghatal region.

GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 30th Sept: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced that ₹1,200 crore would be allocated during the current financial year for the long-pending Ghatal Master Plan, aimed at addressing recurring floods in parts of the state.

The announcement was made at Birsingha in Paschim Medinipur, where Adhikari paid tribute to social reformer Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on his 207th birth anniversary. Vidyasagar University records confirm that the 207th birth anniversary was observed in September 2026.

Adhikari also directed government officials and local legislators to expedite the implementation of the project.

According to Adhikari, the Centre will contribute 50 per cent of the ₹1,200-crore allocation, while the state government will meet the remaining share.

He said funds would also be made available through the Disaster Management Department for land acquisition required for the project.

“We will allocate Rs 1,200 crore for the Ghatal Master Plan this financial year. The Centre will provide 50 per cent of the funds, and the state government will bear the remaining costs,” Adhikari said.

The Chief Minister directed that work should proceed on a war footing after Durga Puja, with the target of completing the project by June 2027, ahead of the next monsoon.

The allocation is consistent with the broader 2026–27 state policy focus on flood protection and the Ghatal project; a policy review of the state budget also identifies a ₹1,200-crore Ghatal flood-protection plan.

The Ghatal Master Plan, estimated at around ₹1,500 crore, is designed to reduce recurring flooding by improving drainage and channelising excess water through canals and rivers towards the Rupnarayan River.

The project covers parts of Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur, with an area of around 1,659 square kilometres. The plan has remained pending for several decades, with its estimated cost rising substantially from its original projection of ₹50 crore.

The project has been a longstanding issue in the Ghatal region. In June, TMC MP Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev, had urged the newly elected state government to expedite the plan and received assurances that it would be taken forward.

During his address, Adhikari also criticised the previous Trinamool Congress government over what he described as “faulty policies”.

He claimed that West Bengal had fallen to the 31st position among states and Union territories in education and raised concerns over child marriage and adolescent motherhood in the state.

He cited figures of around 60,000 adolescent mothers, including approximately 13,000 in Murshidabad and 9,000 in South 24 Parganas, while saying that cases were also reported from Paschim Medinipur.

These remarks were part of Adhikari’s criticism of the previous administration and were not independently verified in the material available for this report.

The Ghatal Master Plan has remained a major infrastructure demand in the flood-prone region for decades. The project is intended to strengthen water management infrastructure, improve drainage and provide a coordinated mechanism for managing excess monsoon water.

The latest funding announcement and proposed June 2027 deadline mark a renewed push to move the project from prolonged planning and funding discussions towards implementation.