Kolkata, 18 December (H.S.):

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on the occasion of Minority Rights Day on Thursday, shared details of her government's work for the development of the minority community through a detailed post on the social media platform X. She said that her government has done and continues to do unprecedented work in minority development.

The Chief Minister stated that the planning budget of the Minority Affairs Department has been increased by more than 10 times. The budget, which was ₹472 crore in 2010-11, has increased to more than ₹5,602 crore in 2025-26.

Mamata Banerjee claimed that Bengal is number one in the country in terms of minority scholarships. The Aikya Shree scholarship has been launched for minority students at the state government's expense. Since 2011, approximately 4.85 crore minority scholarships have been provided by spending around ₹10,208 crore.

Educational loans of up to ₹30 lakh are being provided to minority students for higher education within or outside the country. In the last approximately 15 years, educational loans of around ₹327 crore have been given to about 40,000 minority students. In addition, the Student Credit Card facility is also available. The Medhashree project has been launched for students from minority communities and other backward classes.

Since 2011, with the aim of making minority youth and members of self-help groups self-reliant, loans worth ₹3,926 crore have been given to 16.31 lakh beneficiaries.

Mamata Banerjee informed that under the Multi-Sectoral Development Project, more than ₹4,500 crore has been spent to construct approximately 2 lakh infrastructure projects in minority-dominated areas.

₹1.20 lakh is being sanctioned for the construction of houses for destitute minority women. So far, 2,60,027 people have been given more than ₹2,456 crore.

The Chief Minister stated that English medium model madrasas are being established in 14 districts. 38 integrated English medium schools are also being established. 366 more madrasas have been recognized as non-aided madrasas. Teachers and educational staff are being appointed in madrasas through the Madrasa Service Commission. Urdu has been given the status of an official language in areas where more than 10 percent of the population speaks Urdu. Urdu Academy regional centers have been started in Islampur and Asansol.

The Chief Minister claimed that approximately 69,000 Imams and Muezzins are working to create awareness among the people about various welfare schemes of the state government. The Minority Development Council and the Minority Skill Development Board have been constituted. A Minority Cultural Development Center is being built in Murshidabad.

The Chief Minister also extended his greetings to everyone on Minority Rights Day.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey