West Bengal CM promises Purulia's Junglemahal revamp, jobs and new infrastructure

Kolkata: Assuring on zero tolerance on cut money and syndicate-raj, West Bengal Chief Minister on Monday promised to rebuild the Junglemahal's tribal belt of Purulia, with new schools, community halls, education, houses for the tribals and all other infrastructure, industrial rejuvenation with employment generation in the region, which was long deprived.

The new BJP government, which completed 100 days today in Bengal, launched Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-assisted drinking water supply project for the arid region of Purulia's Manbazar, which will provide 680 lakh litres of water through this project.

The Chief Minister said that people will rate him with a report card after one year in March 2027.


West Bengal Piped Water Supply Project, a JICA-supported initiative aimed at providing safe piped drinking water to over 84,500 rural households across five blocks in Purulia.

The West Bengal Piped Water Supply Project, a major rural drinking water infrastructure project supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was inaugurated today at Manbazar in Purulia district by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, JICA said in a statement. The project is set to transform access to safe and reliable drinking water for communities across five development blocks of Purulia district and Purulia Municipality.

Implemented with financial assistance from JICA, the project has been constructed at an investment of approximately Rs 1,296.25 crore and it will provide safe and potable piped water to more than 84,500 households across Manbazar-I, Barabazar, Arsha, Purulia-I and Puncha development blocks, besides providing bulk water supply to Purulia municipality.

“It will draw water from the Mukutmanipur Reservoir on the Kumari River and is designed to address long-standing bottlenecks in drinking water availability in the region, people in the know said.

Takeuchi Takuro, Chief Representative, JICA India said “This project marks a significant milestone in India-Japan development cooperation and JICA’s commitment to strengthening water supply infrastructure across India. By bringing reliable, piped water closer to households, the initiative is expected to contribute significantly to improved public health, reduce the time and effort spent on water collection, and support the social and economic well-being of rural communities in the state of West Bengal.”

Under the guidance of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the project has been implemented by the Public Health Engineering Department of West Bengal government.

The initiative reinforces the partnership between India and Japan, Takuro said.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is Japan’s primary governmental agency which delivers official development assistance (ODA) to partner countries worldwide. JICA plays a central role in advancing international cooperation and sustainable development for 145 countries including India.