Released Rs 5.36 Lakh Crore in Five Years, Shows Modi Government Will Defy Mamata’s ‘Deprived of Bengal’ Claim

In response to accusations of unpaid debt made by the state government headed by Mamata Banerjee, the Narendra Modi administration has revealed that the Center had granted Rs 5.36 lakh crore to West Bengal during the previous five years. In the lead-up to the Lok Sabha elections, Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress escalated her attacks on the BJP and the national government, tying the problem to “Banglar Bonchona” (depriving Bengal) during Sunday’s massive rally in Kolkata.

Mamata Banerjee had said that the Center “thinks it will starve Bengal to death” during a previous dharna to demand the pay of the state’s 21 lakh MGNREGA workers.

The Center has insisted that it halted the payments because it found irregularities and possible corruption in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) activities in Bengal.

The Modi government has released figures to assert that, in the last five years, it released Rs 5.36 lakh crore to West Bengal, which is in addition to the food subsidy worth Rs 80,000 crore and fertilizer subsidy worth Rs 30,000 crore given to beneficiaries in Bengal. This comes in response to the TMC portraying the BJP as “anti-Bengal” ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

MODI GOVT SPENT 170% MORE ON BENGAL’S POOR THAN UPA
According to the national government, West Bengal has received Rs 93,171 crore for rural development. It’s interesting to note that, for six of the previous ten fiscal years, Bengal has received the most amount of funding for rural development.

Rs 13,649 crore was made available for the state’s urban development, while Rs 2,151 crore was made available for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen). The Modi administration provided details, stating that 4,89,959 dwellings in urban areas alone were approved under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The Center did not waste any time emphasizing that 6 crore people in Bengal received free food grains.

Rejecting accusations of deprivation, the Center cited the 170% increase in state spending on rural development between the UPA and Modi administrations.

CENTER’S EXPENDITURE ON WOMEN AND BENGAL TRIBALS
The Center detailed how it had spent a substantial amount of money on various aspects of Bengali society, stating that in the previous six years, it had granted Rs. 5,744 crore for women’s development and Rs. 834 crore for tribal care.

Bengal’s indigenous population earned Rs 231 crore in scholarships alone, according to the Center. In the meantime, Rs 5,239 crore of the Rs 5,744 crore allocated for women’s development was made available for Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. In addition, funds of Rs 171 crore and Rs 334 crore, respectively, were made available for Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti, both of which aim to assist the state’s women.

Details provided by the national government indicate that under the Sukanya Samrdhi Yojna, up to 14 lakh bank accounts have been established for female children in West Bengal.

RELEASED FOR BENGAL ROADS: RS 15,000.
The Narendra Modi administration said that it has allotted Rs 15,675 crore for projects related to roads in Bengal, Rs 19,483 crore for the development of railway infrastructure, and Rs 16,300 crore for projects related to ports, waterways, and Sagarmala.

It also included defense PSU projects valued at Rs 24,000 crore. It brought to mind the Haldia multimodal terminal, which was finished under the Modi administration. The 173% increase in railway budget allocation during the Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi administrations was also mentioned by the Center.

AIDING THE FARMERS IN BENGAL
The Modi administration released Rs 8,492 crore under the PM-KISAN plan and provided fertilizer subsidies totaling Rs 30,000 crore to Bengal during the previous five years in order to ensure farmer welfare.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana for Bengal, almost 20 lakh kisan credit cards with a combined limit of over Rs 10,000 crore have been granted, while grants of Rs 230 crore have been given as help. According to the government, the latter would directly help 1.62 lakh farmers.

It mentioned the disbursement of Rs 78 crore under the Blue Revolution to support the fisheries industry and Rs 283 crore for the animal husbandry sector during the last six years.

Plans designed to assist those most in need
5.07 crore bank accounts were established for financial inclusion under the PM Jan Dhan Yojna. There were 2.75 crore enrolments for accident insurance under the PM Suraksha Bima Yojna. A crore individuals registered for life insurance under the PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, while over 48 lakh people signed up for the Atal Pension Yojana.

Under the PM SVANidhi project, 1.79 lakh beneficiaries have received over Rs 195 crore in payments. Since the PM Mudra Yojana’s inception, almost Rs 2.37 lakh crore has been awarded, according to the federal government.

BENGAL VIKSIT = BHARAT VIKSIT
According to those involved in the execution of several state projects, this seems to be the Center’s spending pattern. The last ten years have seen the completion of up to 29 significant projects.

Bengal’s Haldia-Varanasi route received new life under the Jal Marg Vikas Project, which aims to increase the capacity of national waterways, while Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata saw a massive increase in cargo handling capacity, rising from 70.85 MTPA to 92.77 MTPA.

In the past five years, the Center has established 359 Jan Aushadhi outlets around the state that provide reasonably priced medications, in addition to three ESIC hospitals in Darjeeling, North 24 Parganas, and Paschim Medinipur.

More than Rs 5 crore has been issued to the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation, more than Rs 34 crore has been financially assisted to the Ramakrishna Mission in Kolkata, and more than Rs 16 lakh has been provided to renovate the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya in Barrackpore, according to the Center.

According to the government, the Center also made sure that Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan was designated a World Heritage Site and contributed Rs 30 crore towards the establishment of Belur Math.