Buddhadeb, Pranab discuss cyclone Aila

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee held a 30-minute closed door meeting with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee at Kolkata airport on Friday evening.

Though both remained tightlipped on the nature of the discussions, it is learnt from senior officials at Writers Buildings that the CM discussed the massive devastation caused by Cyclone Aila in West Bengal and sought Mukherjee's help to combat the situation.

Mr Mukherjee was on his way to Delhi after visiting his Lok Sabha constituency of Jangipur. Incidentally, the chief minister had on Thursday written to the Prime Minister seeking Rs 1,000 crore from the National Calimity Relief Fund to combat the post-Aila situation. He had also urged the Prime Minister to declare the West Bengal's recent devastation as a national calamity.

Meanwhile, West Bengal finance minister Asim Dasgupta on Friday reacted sharply to Mamata Banerjee's demand that the Centre should bypass the state government in releasing funds to cope with the post-Aila situation.

"Municipalities and panchayats are state subject. As per the Constitution, the Centre can not bypass the state government and give funds directly to these agencies," Dasgupta told reporters at the state administrative headquarters in Writers��� Buildings on Friday.

Mamata had alleged that the ruling CPIM was in the habit of pockeing central funds and urged the Centre to make the disbursements directly to the panchayats bypassing the state government. Dasgupta, however, said that the Centre should send its team without any delay to assess the damages suffered by the West Bengal districts due to the recent cyclonic storm.