Swapan Dasgupta says the challenge is to boost state revenue without raising taxes as he takes charge as Finance Minister
West Bengal’s newly sworn-in BJP government has begun assigning key responsibilities, with Swapan Dasgupta named as the state’s finance minister. Dasgupta, who won the election from the Rashbehari constituency, had taken oath as a full cabinet minister on June 1. Speaking to reporters ahead of his first official trip to North Bengal on Thursday, he said his immediate priority is to understand the state’s problems by talking to different stakeholders. He said he plans to visit Siliguri and speak with tea garden workers as part of his initial assessment.
Dasgupta acknowledged the burden of debt left by the previous government and said the new administration faces the challenge of increasing state revenue without raising taxes. He stated that the government should avoid imposing additional tax pressure on citizens and businesses, and that decisions on financial matters will be taken in consultation with the chief minister. According to him, the first step is to identify weaknesses in the system and discuss where improvements are needed before making policy changes.
The government has also announced its higher education portfolio, which has been given to Jagnath Chattopadhyay. After receiving the responsibility, he said the education sector has been affected the most and that the government will work to integrate and unify the system while fully implementing the central government’s education policy in the state. He said the aim is to ensure that students in West Bengal receive the same opportunities and facilities as those in other parts of India. Chattopadhyay added that West Bengal has historically been a center of knowledge and learning, and the new government wants the state to regain a leadership position in education over the next five years.
Along with these appointments, the cabinet’s departmental allocations have been made public. Tapas Ray has been given the industries department, while Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay will handle health and family welfare. Deepak Barman has been assigned education and textiles, Arjun Singh will oversee transport and labour, and Dudh Kumar Mandal has been made agriculture minister. Shankar Ghosh has been given tourism and parliamentary affairs, Manoj Oraon will manage forests and environment, and Gaurishankar Ghosh has been assigned backward classes welfare, public education and library services. Additional responsibilities have gone to Chakraborty for information technology, Arup Kumar Das for irrigation, and Ajay Poddar for public works and public health engineering.
In another development, police were seen at the residence of Swarup Biswas, brother of former sports minister Arup Biswas, indicating a separate security or administrative action. The new cabinet’s early moves suggest the government is focusing on administrative review, fiscal management and education reform as it begins its term.
