After having not obtained cash from the Centre for the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Nationwide Rural Employment Assure Scheme) for 3 consecutive monetary years, the West Bengal authorities is now apprehensive that they’d not be allotted the MGNREGA funds for the following monetary 12 months additionally, as officers alleged that the chief committee of the Centre’s scheme didn’t ask West Bengal to submit calls for for both the job assure scheme or the PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna).
A senior official of the state authorities stated, “Usually, the chief committees of various Central schemes ask state governments to submit their detailed calls for for the following monetary 12 months inside December and after that, they seek the advice of with state authorities representatives and finalise allocations for the following monetary 12 months. The chief committee of PMAY and MGNREGA known as each state and had a gathering with their representatives however West Bengal didn’t get a name.”
He additional stated, “We now have already ready an in depth report and the state authorities has already began disbursing cash from their very own for these two schemes. However the Central authorities is just not prepared to listen to our calls for. So, we’re apprehensive that for the monetary 12 months 2025-26 as properly, the Centre won’t give cash for the MGNREGA and PMAY.”
State Panchayat and Rural Growth Division sources alleged that the Central authorities stopped fund allocation MGNREGA and PMAY from December 2021 after the Centre accused the state of “corrupt” practices in utilising the schemes.
A senior official of Panchayat and Rural Growth stated, “We now have dues in MGNREGA of Rs 7,000 crore within the monetary 12 months of 2021-22. After that, because the Central authorities stopped allocating funds in 100 days’ work, we misplaced funds of Rs 10,000 crore funds per 12 months. So, that could be a complete of Rs 30,000 crore.”
State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya alleged, “We now have already submitted within the pre-budget assembly of the Central Authorities the dues of Rs 1,71,000 crore and urged us to settle. We stated that the Centre despatched 27 groups and 49 monetary groups (to research the allegations) they usually didn’t discover something. Even after that, why did the Central authorities cease allocating funds to our state?”
State Panchayat and Rural Growth minister Pradip Majumder stated, “We’re being subjected to unlawful and unreasonable deprivation, regardless of having a sequence of nationwide groups come right here to attempt to discover faults. We additionally submitted experiences on the motion taken. Our Chief Minister, greater than as soon as, appealed to the Centre to settle the dues. After that, we on our personal sanctioned cash to construct homes for greater than 10 lakh poor households underneath the ‘Banglar Bari’ scheme. That is how we face the challenges.”
Nonetheless, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul requested why the Centre ought to “make an exception for West Bengal”.
“The Central Authorities requested the West Bengal authorities about corrupt practices in these schemes and stated to take motion towards those that are culprits. However the West Bengal authorities didn’t do this. Naturally, the query was raised — who’s the West Bengal authorities making an attempt to protect? Even after taking correct motion, the Centre won’t allocate cash. We’re able to go to Delhi to demand (funds) for the state however we will’t make an unlawful demand to the Central authorities,” she stated.
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