IT to rule the roost in state , says minister

MALDA, Dec. 20: The state health, panchayat and rural development minister Dr Surya Kanta Misra today claimed that e-governance would be introduced in all blocks and gram panchayats by 2008.Dr Misra, who arrived here today to review the progress of various health, panchayat and rural development projects in four districts ~ Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur ~ said the government had pledged to bring all the panchayat areas of the state under the IT ambit by 2008. Speaking to the reporters here today, the minister said all block and panchayat samitis would come under the IT and that the government is planning to recruit block informatics officers in each blocks. He said that the state government is also planning to set up a medical college at Kalyani in Nadia by 2007.“If everything goes according to plan, a medical college would also be set up in Malda by 2008,” the minister, said. He added that block primary health centres would be converted into rural hospitals and more staff would be recruited for health services and infrastructure. He said so far 95 BPHCs have been converted into rural hospitals in the state and the rest 82 would be converted by three years. “We want to reduce workload in the district hospitals by establishing rural hospitals,” the minister, said.According to sources, Dr Misra today expressed unhappiness over the performance and implementation of 100 days job to uplift the migrated labourers. n SNS