Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today asked all new councilors-elect in Siliguri to set up a programme implementation and monitoring cell for the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC).

Meeting the newly-elected Trinamul Congress councillors at Uttarkanya, the government’s branch secretariat for north Bengal, Miss Banerjee advised them to work with a vision for development and for people. According to her, she will herself also monitor the work of the civic body.

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The CM met the 37 councillors led by would-be mayor Gautam Deb a day after the party registered a thumping victory for the first time in the SMC elections. “We have initiated a lot of development work in Siliguri. I want to oversee the day-today work, development work. There should be a vision for Siliguri as people talk about changes in Kolkata; Rajarhat looks like an international place. I will monitor the work. Set up a programme implementation and monitoring cell. Inform me if there is a complaint against someone,” Miss Banerjee said while she was being introduced with all the councillors.

The CM arrived in Siliguri yesterday, hours after the election results showed that the Trinamul Congress had won 37 of the 47 wards in the SMC. Miss Banerjee has said that there should not be more demands than the basic issues like houses, cycles, scooters or a car. “We need to go with the people. The more people give you, the more we need to trust them,” she added.

Miss Banerjee, however, alerted the veteran and controversial Trinamul Congress councilor, Ranjan Sil Sharma, not to be “naughty.” It is learnt that the Darjeeling district party chairman, Alok Chakravarty, told the CM during today’s meeting that they would give Miss Banerjee the three-tier Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad next. Elections to the rural body are expected to be held within a few months. The ruling party has never formed an elected SMP board so far. Party leaders here are hopeful that after sweeping the civic body polls, they would perform well in the rural elections too.

Miss Bnaerjee enquired about senior party leader Pratul Chakrabarty, who defeated BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh in the civic elections. She also took photographs with the councilors, and Mr Chakravarty and the district party president Papiya Ghosh. Mr Deb later said the CM briefed them on a roadmap for the town’s development. He said they will implement her advice. The municipal affairs and urban development department will finalise the date for oath-taking of the elected councilors, he said.