Kolkata, May 20 (Reporter) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced launching the state government-sponsored ‘Banglar Bari (Gramin)’ scheme to help the poor build their houses. Under the scheme, financial assistance of Rs 1.2 lakh per family will be provided in two installments to some 12 lakh poor and eligible families across the state for building their houses. The first installment, amounting Rs 7,200 crore, was disbursed last December ( 2024). " Today, the second installment of Rs 7,200 crore was directly credited to their bank accounts," Banerjee said. " I am happy to say that our government has spent a total of Rs 14,400 crore from its own funds for the construction of houses under this scheme," the Chief Minister said on her X handle. She also extended her best wishes to all the beneficiaries for the alleviation of poverty and owning a home. " We will also build houses for another 16 lakh eligible families. They will receive their first installment in December this year and the second installment in May 2026," the Chief Minister assured. Besides this, the Chief Minister also released financial assistance of Rs 158 crore directly to the bank accounts of more than 1 lakh potato farmers across the state under the ‘Bangla Shasya Bima’ scheme. The assistance is being provided to those farmers who suffered losses in potato cultivation due to adverse weather during the current Rabi season. "In this context, let me mention that the farmers of Bengal receive crop insurance completely free of cost, " she clarified about the scheme. The state government pays the entire premium for all crops. "We are proud that since its launch in 2019, our government has already provided more than Rs 3,720 crore as assistance to the farmers of Bengal under the ‘Bangla Shasya Bima’ scheme alone. "We will continue to stand by the farmers of Bengal in the coming days also," she added...////...