 "Giriraj Singh")
Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh held a press conference in Bihar, addressing allegations made by the West Bengal Government regarding claims of discrimination in rural development schemes.
He clarified that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Rural Development has allocated more than Rs 2 trillion to West Bengal for rural development in the last nine years. In comparison, the state received Rs 58,000 crore under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Drawing further comparisons between the two governments, Singh stated that more than Rs 54,000 crore had been given to the West Bengal government under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in the last nine years, while earlier they had received Rs 14,900 crore under the UPA government.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, while Rs 5,400 crore was spent during the UPA government, more than double, Rs 11,000 crore, has been spent under the Modi government. Similarly, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Rs 4,400 crore was spent during the UPA government, whereas the Modi government allocated Rs 30,000 crore to Bengal. He also highlighted the bank linkage of West Bengal's women under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), which is now worth about Rs 74,000 crore, compared to Rs 600 crore during the UPA era, and the expansion of self-help groups (SHG) in the state. Moreover, the Finance Commission allocated Rs 25,000 crore to West Bengal, whereas during the UPA era, only Rs 3,200 crore were allocated.
Earlier, the Bengal assembly had passed a motion that condemned the Centre's decision to withhold funds for many rural development schemes. The state claimed that the Centre had withheld it as a political move ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also announced that the Bengal government would run its own 100-day job scheme using the state's resources.
However, Singh criticised the West Bengal Government for issuing 2.5 million fake MNREGA job cards, leading to the misappropriation of government funds. He pointed out the State Government's lack of cooperation with the Central Government's investigations and its failure to address issues of corruption and irregularities in implementing welfare schemes.
Singh cited corruption in the West Bengal government as the chief cause for improper implementation of government schemes. He also stated that if the state government had cooperated with the Centre on welfare schemes, the state would have been "writing a new story of development today".
An action taken report (ATR) was also requested from West Bengal on schemes, and the state was reportedly informed that non-submission of an ATR could lead to the withholding of funds. According to Singh, the ATR filed for MNREGA was "protecting the culprits" of corruption, and when questioned, the state government had not given clear answers. Union Minister Singh stated that they had received no cooperation during the investigation.
