Mamata meets Modi, demands release of central funds for West Bengal

New Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded the release of pending central funds to the state. She said the prime minister proposed that officials from the state and the Centre can sit together and clear the issues.

Speaking to the media after the meeting in the Parliament complex along with nine party MPs, Banerjee said 155 central teams have already visited West Bengal and the state government has given clarification on issues raised by the Centre.

The Centre and the West Bengal government have been involved in a tug-of-war over the release of funds to the state, with the TMC even holding a protest led by its general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in the national capital in October. The BJP has accused the TMC government of siphoning off central funds meant for Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna and MGNREGA.

Talking about the pending MGNREGA funds for the state, Banerjee said it is mandatory under the Constitution to pay the workers. "We didn't even get a penny for 100 days of work (under MGNREGA) in the budget for 2022-23.

"Funds for Aawas Yojna have been stopped, rural development schemes have been shut, and the health mission programme has also been shut. We are also not getting funds under the Finance Commission," Banerjee alleged.

"Our officials have given all the clarification they asked for. PM has said a joint meeting will be held by the Centre and state officials. I said we have given clarification 155 times. We can do that once again, they can decide the formula. In a federal structure, the central government has a share and the state also has a share," she said.

"It is not right to stop the money for poor people," Banerjee said, adding that the Centre owed nearly Rs. 1.16 lakh crore to the state under various centrally sponsored schemes and pending claims for natural disasters over the past years.

The pending dues include MGNREGA payment to the tune of nearly Rs 6911 crore - Rs 3732 crore against wage liability and Rs 3179 crore against non-wage liabilities; central share for 11,01,731 houses sanctioned under PM Awaas Yojana which has not been released; and fund under National Health Mission by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

A memorandum was submitted to the prime minister, which said despite the legacy of a burden of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore of debt of the previous regime and even after repaying a staggering amount of Rs 5 lakh crore towards debt and interest (debt of Rs. 1.98 lakh crore and interest Rs 3.23 lakh crore), West Bengal has achieved unprecedented progress during 2011-2023 period.

Banerjee said in the memorandum that the GSDP of West Bengal during the last 12 years has increased from Rs 4.60 lakh crore in 2010-11 to Rs 15.54 lakh crore in 2022-23, an increase of 3.37 times.

"This reflects the remarkable progress made by the state in all sectors. There has also been a marked improvement in all fiscal parameters achieved by way of implementation of far-reaching reforms in financial and revenue administration," the TMC chief said.

"Despite our excellent all-round performance in all areas, we are not getting our share of resources from the central pool that rightfully belong to the people of the state. Depriving the people of Bengal of their rightful claim on development funds has pushed millions into untold misery and poverty," she said.

She also flagged a "disturbing and unwelcome development" where several central ministries have made the use of "unilaterally decided name, logo and colour schemes" for buildings mandatory for getting funds under centrally sponsored schemes.

"It is also important to note that the logo being imposed resembles more to the symbol of the ruling party at the Centre, rather than the logo of the Government of India," she said.

"As a chief minister of an important state and in that capacity, you had fought for the rights of the state and its people in our federal structure. States have a very important role to play in the development of this great country," she said.

Any step taken unilaterally by the Centre that undermines the position of the state or the sentiments and self-respect of its people will only weaken this country, she said.

"We cannot and should not allow people of any state to suffer for whatever reasons," she added. PTI