Retain level of fund flows under central schemes: WB to NITI Aayog

The NITI Aayog has already set up a committee to look into the demands of the state govts, said Amit Mitra

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra today said the state has asked NITI Aayog to retain the money sanctioned under central schemes for implementation of various projects at previous years' level.

Replying to the debate for the passage of the West Bengal Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2015, Mitra informed the Assembly that the state had already written to the NITI Aayog in this regard, adding that several other states had also done so.

The NITI Aayog has already set up a committee to look into the demands of the state governments, he added.

Mitra said although the devolution of funds under the 14th Finance Commission had been increased from 32 per cent to 42 per cent to the state from the divisible tax pool, the net result of realising central funds did not change as money for various central schemes had been curtailed.

He said that the situation remained the same as some important schemes like ICDS, BRGF and others under social sector would have to be continued keeping in view the commitment of the government to the people.

When the state would realise additional devolution of about Rs 10,000 crore, the same amount had to be expended by the state for continuing with the schemes, he said.

Brushing aside all allegations of the opposition Left Front, Mitra told the Assembly that the TMC government had taken a meagre amount of loans during its four years of rule compared to the quantum of loans taken by the former government.

Mitra said that in the last four years, the TMC government had taken loans of about Rs 86,000 crore.

But the state government had to spend Rs 76,000 crore on debt servicing, a legacy of the erstwhile LF government.

In real terms, the present government has taken only Rs 6,000 crore loans in the last four years, which was a very meagre amount compared to the previous government, he said. The opposition LF members earlier alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government had incurred more debts in its four years in power than what had been left outstanding by the previous government.

The Chief Minister, on the other hand, has alleged that she inherited a huge debt left behind by the erstwhile LF government.

With the TMC government taking huge loans, the total debt of the state has gone up, the LF member alleged, adding that even then, the chief minister is criticising the Left Front government for leaving behind a huge debt.

Replying to another allegation by the LF members that the TMC government had failed to utilise funds properly in various sectors, Mitra explained how the state government had been able to multiply expenses in the sectors like social infrastructure, development of physical infrastructure, state plan expenses and capital expenditure.

The government has been able to raise the growth of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) above 5 per cent successively in the last four years of TMC rule as against below 5 per cent registered by the previous LF regime.