‘Centre not releasing…’: In letter to PM, Mamata claims delay in funds to Bengal

The chief minister claimed that the wage payment for MGNREGA in Bengal is pending for more than four months as the Centre is yet to release funds to the state to the tune of ₹6,500 crore, i.e ₹3,000 crore against the wage liabilities and ₹3,500 crore against non-wage liabilities.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the Centre is not releasing funds to the state for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the PM Awas Yojana, news agency ANI reported.

“You are aware that the wages for MGNREGA form an important part of livelihood of rural people and considering this importance, the Act mandates that the wages must be paid within fifteen days” the chief minister wrote.

The chief minister claimed that the wage payment for MGNREGA in Bengal is pending for more than four months as the Centre is yet to release funds to the state to the tune of ₹6,500 crore, i.e ₹3,000 crore against the wage liabilities and ₹3,500 crore against non-wage liabilities.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides MGNREGA, the Bengal chief minister also claimed that the fresh allocation of funds to the state by the ministry of rural development was pending.

“In Awas Yojana, West Bengal is No. 1 in the country and from 2016-17, more than 32 lakh houses had been constructed in the state,” Banerjee wrote.

"Considering the significance of the projects and the hardships being faced by the common people, I would request you for your immediate intervention and direction to the concerned Ministry to release the funds without further delay (sic)," she wrote.