I have done everything for all the states: Mamata

ON A MISSION: Mamata Banerjee says if she doesn't do anything for her state then she will lose face.

      

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Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday presented a people-friendly Budget leaving passenger fares and freight charges unchanged. She also introduced over 50 new trains and new ticket schemes. In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN's National Affairs Editor Diptosh Majumdar, Mamata explained that she tried to please every part of the country.

Diptosh Majumdar: Everyone is saying this is a Santa Claus come to town budget. There are goodies for everyone and everyone is praising it including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. So how did you plan this Budget in so little time - just a month-and-a-half? Are we seeing the evolution of the Mamata Banerjee who believed that social viability is more important than economic viabilty?

Mamata Banerjee: I am grateful to the honourable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who extended all cooperation to us as well as Congress President Sonia Gandhi. But I am thinking of two points. Number one there is a social compulsion and number two is the economic obligation. For social compulsion, I thought that there were some areas which had been left out from the development process. Those parts we cannot leave out only because they are socially not viable. Even areas which do not have railway lines or development infrastructure are assets to our country. From the economic or commercial obligation point of view it balances itself out because we are using this to create more and more developmental infrastructure this time around. Through this Diamond Corridor, which is a landmark, we will aim at developing infrastructure. The western corridor is already progressing and we will help the eastern corridor develop as well. That is why we will give it a boost up through landbanks.

Diptosh Majumdar: Will you explain that concept of landbank which is a very new phenomenon. How will you use it?

Mamata Banerjee: There is so much land which the railways have and that is why we have set up a landbank. We are planning to set up an expert committee which will give us an expert plan dedicated to the Diamond Freight Corridor. With this business plan, we want to make railway land available for industrial hubs. Through this landbank, land will be easily available. Number two, instead of spending money from internal generation we can offer land - which is our asset - and give them technical services, operational services. They (industries) can come and invest their money through a public-private partnership. I want to invite industrial houses from all over the world and ask them to come and invest. This will be the bright future for the country.

Diptosh Majumdar: Are you learning from the Nandigram and Singur experience that you are creating a model where development will go hand-in-hand with industrialisation and also with ensuring that there is poverty alleviation and measures which are there for inclusive growth?