One year on, Bengal awaits Rs 1.16L cr dues from Centre despite Mamata-Modi meet

MP, 21 Dec 2024, Kolkata: One year has elapsed since Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with her nine party MPs had met Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi urging him to clear states’ pending dues of Rs 1.16 lakh crore, but the Bengal government is yet to receive the funds from the Centre. 

Moreover, after the Centre denied funds to the state under Awas Yojana, the Mamata Banerjee government started providing funds to the people on its own under the ‘Banglar Bari’ scheme. The state has even started providing 100 days work to the job card holders in its own capacity after the Centre stopped providing MGNREGA funds. 

While meeting PM Modi on December 20 last year, Banerjee raised the issue of pending dues of Rs 1.16 lakh crore from the Centre. After the meeting, Banerjee had told reporters that the Prime Minister assured her that a joint meeting would be held between the officials of both the state and the Centre to look into the Bengal government’s demands on releasing central funds for various projects. 

Since then meetings were held between the State and Central government officials in this regard but no significant steps have been taken yet. 

The bureaucrats at the Centre held a couple of meetings in Delhi in this regard. Also Read - Bengal receives investment proposals worth Rs 4,650 cr The Central government officers had sought some of the documents and action taken reports. State government officials had sent all the documents that Central officers had asked for. 

The Chief Minister’s office was also closely monitoring the issue. After receiving all the documents the Central government told the State that they were not satisfied with whatever documents the state has submitted. 

Many are expressing doubts if the state government will at all receive any funds from the Centre under 100 day work projects and others in the next financial year. The outstanding dues include social schemes such as MGNREGS, PMAY, PMGSY, NHM etc. 

Banerjee during her meeting with PM last year also reminded him that the GSDP of Bengal during the past 12 years had 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. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/mamata-calls-for-statewide-stir-on-dec-23-against-bjp-over-insult-to-br-ambedkar-591602