Dole club list lengthens

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, Sept. 17: The state government has added 3,700 clubs to its list of beneficiaries of a dole of Rs 2 lakh each, saddling the cash-strapped administration with an additional burden of over Rs 90 crore this year.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will hand over the dole to more than 6,000 clubs, including the 3,700, at a programme in Netaji Indoor Stadium on September 28. The 3,700 clubs will get Rs 1 lakh each for five years after 2013.

In 2011-12, the government had given Rs 2 lakh each to 781 clubs. Last year, the dole was given to an additional 1,614 clubs, costing the exchequer Rs 40 crore. These 2,395 clubs will get Rs 1 lakh each this year.

Sources said the chief minister wanted to bring as many clubs as possible under the scheme, which senior Writers’ officials said had worked in favour of Trinamul in the panchayat polls in July.

“In areas where clubs were given the dole, the ruling party has done exceptionally well in the panchayat polls. In Jungle Mahal, more than 200 clubs were given the assistance and the ruling party has virtually swept the elections there,” an official said. A minister said the government was “depending on the scheme heavily” before the Lok Sabha polls.

“Although the programme to distribute cheques to the clubs was held in January in the last two financial years, this time it will be held in September as the chief minister believes the Lok Sabha polls can be declared any time after November,” the minister said.

Officials said the fund would come from the plan head of the sports department.

The government has also decided to felicitate more than 50 sports personalities on September 28. Mamata today approved a proposal by the sports department to give Khel Samman to several retired and current sportspersons.

The senior Writers’ officials said each awardee would get a memento and financial assistance between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

These doles to clubs is nothing but indirect bribery to make people vote for the TMC by either convincing them or threatening them with dire consequencies. Of course, first elections would be held only if the opposition candidates are allowed to file his nomination papers.

These clubs ensure that that the opposition are not allowed to do so as they did in the last panchayat elections.

The election commission should ask for central forces even before the filing of nomination papers as otherwise the TMC will sabotage the elections as they did last time.

They are already planning to repeat the stategy during the parliamentary elections.