Mamata to meet Montek in Delhi seeking higher plan outlay

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in Delhi tomorrow to demand a higher plan outlay for the current financial year of the state, hamstrung by a “serious” fund shortage.

Banerjee on Monday said the state was facing a “serious funds crunch”, a legacy of the 35-year rule of the Left Front government which left a debt burden of over Rs 2 lakh crore.

“Our income is Rs 21,000 crore per year. The Union government) is taking away Rs 22,000 crore. We have not received anything (from the Union Finance Ministry), not even the basic funds for purchasing rice for BPL card holders,” Mamata said.

She was speaking at a programme of distribution of funds towards scholarships and other loans to students belonging to the Muslim community at Barasat in North 24- Paraganas district.

Despite the crisis, state government employees were, however, getting monthly salary in time, she noted.

The planning commission had pegged West Bengal’s annual plan at Rs 22,214 crore for 2011-12. An official source told PTI on Monday that the state wants the annual plan outlay to be increased to more than Rs 24,000 crore for the current financial year.

A number of ministers and department secretaries will accompany the chief minister to put across the state’s views.

They include finance minister Amit Mitra, planning & development and power minister Manish Gupta, panchayat & rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee, urban development minister Firhad Hakim, secretaries of their respective departments and chief secretary Samar Ghosh.

Mamata had earlier said that the state government needed a three-year moratorium on debt repayment and sought a a debt restructuring plan as well to come out of the crisis.