'Centre grants allowance, not package for Bengal'

Barely a fortnight after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her displeasure over the Centre dragging its feet in releasing funds, a fax message on Saturday confirmed the release of Rs 21,614 crore to the state.

However, Banerjee said the amount did not qualify for a “financial package”, as only Rs 9,240 crore will be in the form of a grant-in-aid for developmental work, while Rs 12,374 crore will be loans. In June, the Planning Commission had approved a Rs 22,214-crore annual plan for the state.

“We have received a fax which says that the Centre has given us an allowance, not a package,” Banerjee told reporters here. “We can go on for another four-five months with this support but we may seek the Centre’s assistance yet again.” The West Bengal government has agreed to present a full budget soon, and raise the revenue resources — the two conditions that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had been insisting on for the release of funds. The state has planned for another vote-on-account in August.

The Centre has also raised the state’s borrowing capacity by Rs 2,706 crore from the present limit of Rs 17,828 crore, under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM). Now, the state government can raise another Rs 6,600 crore under the FRBM. Having repaid a Rs 3,800 crore of central loans, it is also entitled to another loan of Rs 3,437 crore. The chief minister said out of the Rs 9,240 crore, Rs 300 crore will be used for agricultural development, Rs 100 crore for green energy and another Rs 94 crore for Junglemahal. “Though I am not fully satisfied, I thank the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. I know they have to follow rules. The allowance given by the Centre will enable resumption of the developmental work. At least, we will get some relief for the next three to four months.”