The West Bengal Assembly onMonday passed supplementary grants of Rs 26,213 crore for the 2019-20 fiscal, defeating a cut motion brought by a Congress member.Placing the demands for supplementary grants for the ongoing fiscal, Finance Minister Amit Mitra said that major development and welfare work warranted such additional expenditure.Mitra said Rs 5,440 crore was spent for the 'Khadyasathi' programme under which the poor get food at subsidised rates.The minister said an expenditure of Rs 1,140 crore was incurred towards relief to people affected due to cyclone 'Bulbul'.A cut motion brought by Congress MLA Asit Mitra was defeated in the House.Speaking in the assembly, CPI(M) legislature party leader Sujan Chakraborty claimed that the state government is earning "maximum revenue from excise collection", which is "not a good sign".
