Bengal refuses to budge as Centre freezes funds for renamed schemes

What’s in a name? When it comes to centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), a name can mean different things to different states.

The Centre has stopped funding of two CSS schemes in West Bengal because the state government changed their names. But the same yardstick has not been applied to states like Uttar Pradesh which have also rechristened some CSS schemes, jointly funded by the Centre and the states.

Why double standards? Asks state

“The double standards reflect very poorly on the country’s federal system in which the Centre should treat all the states equally,” said Becharam Manna, West Bengal minister of state for panchayat and rural development.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari alleged that by changing names of the centrally sponsored schemes, the state government is misleading the people.

West Bengal’s proposals for release of ₹4,900 crore under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and ₹2,700 crore for the Swachh Bharat Mission (rural) in the current fiscal has not yet been cleared by the Centre, which has objected to the change of names of the schemes by the state government, an official said.

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The Centre has also hinted that the state’s proposals for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) will also not be considered because the scheme has been renamed Bangla Sarak Yojana.

After the previous UPA government’s scheme Indira Awas Yojana was renamed Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY) – Gramin with effect from April 1, 2016 by the BJP government, the TMC government in Bengal named the scheme as Bangla Awas Yojana.

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), another UPA government scheme repackaged by the Modi government, is called Nirmal Bangla Mission in Bengal.

‘Increased share demands increased credit’

The state has changed the names as the BJP government while rechristening the UPA government schemes changed the funding patterns, increasing the state’s share.

The fund sharing pattern between the Centre and the states for the SBM was 70: 30 during the UPA regime when the scheme was called Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA).

The BJP government not only changed the name of the scheme but also the funding pattern, increasing the state share to 40 per cent.

Similarly, the funding pattern of the PMAY during its earlier form as Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) was in the ratio of 80:20 between the Centre and the states. The BJP government changed the sharing pattern to 60:40.

The PMGSY was a fully centrally funded programme during the UPA regime. Now the Centre provides only 60 per cent of the fund.

The West Bengal government’s contention is that when the states are contributing almost equal money in these schemes, why should the Centre take sole credit for them and insist on putting the prime minister’s picture on the houses built under the CSS.

“By norms, after the state sends the annual proposal by January, the Centre releases the funds for the CSSs by March-April or latest by May. But this year, it has withheld our funds for the two schemes and sought to know why names of the schemes have been changed,” the official added.

He pointed out that a few other states too have changed names of some centrally sponsored schemes just as Uttar Pradesh named the PMAY as the UP Awas Vikas Yojana.

In 2021-22, West Bengal constructed the second highest number of houses (8,53,423) under the scheme. UP topped the list constructing 10,22,998 houses, according to a rural development ministry’s figure. In 2020-21, West Bengal constructed 6,78,587 houses as against only 37,711 by the northern state.

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Clearance of over 40 lakh housing applications in 23 districts and solid waste management programmes in around 1000 gram panchayats of the state have been affected due to the fund pause, the official added.

‘Using schemes to avenge poll rout’

Manna sees a political motive behind the Centre’s objection over names, which have been changed a few years ago.

Most political observers credited successful implementations of welfare schemes for the TMC’s overwhelming victory in the 2021 assembly elections.

“Failing to defeat us in the elections, the BJP is now using the central government to disrupt implementations of the welfare schemes by not releasing money,” Manna told The Federal.

Since December last year, the Centre has also not released funds under the MGNREGA scheme for Bengal.

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a public programme on Monday said the state has within its rights to change the names of the schemes. If needed, she would go to New Delhi to take up the matter with the Centre, she added.