Malda (West Bengal), Aug 31: The centrally appointed Vasistha Commission on Ganga erosion in five states has drawn flak from the left front committee of Malda district, which has lost over 10,000 hectares of land by erosion during the past 30 years.
For the five states together, the comission could recommend a meagre Rs 133 crore, a recent memorandum by the district to (UF) Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee said.
Till August, no recommendation was made for West Bengal, the memorandum claimed.
Criticising successive central governments for "not doing anything" to solve the erosion problem in the district, it said during the last 23 years, people had submitted memoranda to seven prime ministers, from late Indira Gandhi in 1980 to Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003.
In 1996, the United Front government had set up the Keshkar Commission which made a set of recommendations involving Rs 927 crore, the memorandum said, adding after the change of guard at the Centre, the recommendations were buried.


Members of the Vasistha Commission had visited Malda district in June and admitted that they had "limited power" for recommending funds to check erosion, it said.

Bureau Report