After protests over frozen funds for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (100-day work), the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal has claimed that the dues for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) have also been delayed by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Centre.
Funds amounting to nearly Rs 5,257 crore are due to be released by the Centre, sources in the Bengal government told News18.
We have written several letters to the Centre. All projects were cleared in July 2023, but still, the money has not been released, they said.
PMGSY is the Centre’s flagship scheme for building rural roads and linking the country’s unconnected rural habitations with all-weathered roads to its highway road network towards “inclusive development” of the rural pockets.
“Everything was cleared in the first half of 2023. This was the second batch of fund releases, but nothing came. We have been writing several letters and messages to the Centre, but nothing seems to work out. Winter is the best time to do road work in Bengal, but if we are not getting funds we won’t be able to do it.” a senior officer in Bengal government said.
Out of the targetted 6,200 km road plan, money has only come for the construction of just 850 km, the officer said.
Explaining the breakup of the Rs 5,257 crore pending amount, sources said that it comprises Rs 1137.29 of pending allocation and sanction dues of Rs 4120.09.
“The Centre is depriving Bengal. With PMGSY money also pending, TMC is definitely going to highlight this issue in its Lok Sabha campaign,” the official added.
The Centre has frozen MGNREGS funds to Bengal for nearly three years, alleging misappropriation of funds. It has been a major political issue in West Bengal, with both TMC and BJP exchanging barbs over the matter.
Last year, TMC took the protest to Delhi under the leadership of Abhishek Banerjee, general secretary and Lok Sabha MP. It also staged a dharna for four days outside the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.
TMC called off the agitation in Kolkata after Governor C.V. Ananda Bose promised to take up the matter with the Centre.
In December, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with some TMC leaders, also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss pending central funds for the state.
She said the prime minister proposed that officials from the state and Centre can sit together and clear the issues.
According to Minister of State for Rural Development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, nodal officers have been appointed to look into the matter.
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