`6K cr NREGS fund for Bengal
Even while West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is set to renew her demands on Tuesday during her meeting with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for financial package, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, while rejecting her allegations of neglect by the Centre, said that the state would get an all-time high allocation of `6,000 crore for flagship scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) this year. Ms Banerjee will also meet the deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, though the state government reportedly has not answered queries of the Plan Panel on governmental issues.
Though Ms Banerjee had been seeking restructuring of the state’s outstanding loans and moratorium on the interest payment liabilities, the Centre has not acceded to any of her demands for lack of norms. Still, Ms Banerjee during her meeting with the Prime Minister would be raising the same issues amid renewed attacks on the UPA government for neglecting the interest of West Bengal, sources said.
However, Mr Ramesh rejected the contention of the Trinamul Congress and stated that “the Centre has allocated much more funds last year to the state under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) than in the 10 preceding years put together”. The minister added that “the Centre had also allocated `4,000 crore under MNREGS to West Bengal in the last financial year”.
Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee during her annual meeting with the Planning Commission is likely to raise the demands for restructuring of the state’s loan and interest liabilities. However, sources said, the background note prepared by the Planning Commission is “vague” about the state’s plan outlay due to lack of information, which was sought by the plan panel but not provided by the state government.
Ms Banerjee is visiting Delhi at a time when the Congress and TMC are locked in war of words in the backdrop of the controversial Panchayat elections in the state. Though the chief minister has official engagements only for Tuesday, she is likely to stay put in the national capital for few days, sources added.
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