West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (Express photo/File)
Gatidhara and Pathadisha, two projects of the Mamata Banerjee-led government, have won the Skoch Smart Governance Order of Merit Award. The awards were given away at an event in New Delhi on Friday.
Skoch Consultancy Services is a think tank dealing with socio-economic issues with a focus on inclusive growth.
“Gatidhara won the National Gold Award. This is probably the only gold award in the country in transport sector,” said Alapan Bandopadhyay, additional chief secretary of the transport department.
The state transport department had set a target of bringing in 10,000 unemployed youths under the Gatidhara project, when it was launched in 2014.
Till date, 10,553 unemployed youths have already been enrolled in the scheme. The aim of the project is to help the unemployed youths earn their livelihood.
Under the scheme, the government provides a financial support of Rs 1 lakh to each beneficiary to buy a commercial vehicle.
The beneficiaries are also helped to get bank loans for the remaining amount. The age bracket for an applicant is 22-45 years.
Pathadisha is a mobile app that enables a commuter to see location of a bus, it’s next destination, the availability of seats, how much crowded it is inside and many more.
Each bus is monitored by the WBTC control room due to which deviation; false complaints of breakdown have come down drastically.