Cash-strapped Bengal eyes unutilised Rs 2,500 crore lying with state coffers

KOLKATA:  At a time when the cash-strapped West Bengal government is accusing the Centre of not releasing the state’s dues, a grant of around Rs 2,500 crore of 15th finance commission is lying unutilised in districts. Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi has convened an emergency meeting on January 2 to seek explanation why the money, which was supposed to be spent through panchayat systems, is still lying unutilised even as the next panchayat election is approaching. 

In several districts the volume of unutilised sum is nearly 50 per cent of the total grant. Based on the recommendations of the commission - on the basis of population, districts are granted the fund by the Centre. The grant is divided into two categories - tied and untied.

Under the tied category, 60 per cent of the grant is to be spent on the specific projects chalked out by the panchayats like  drinking water and sanitation schemes. Rest 40 per cent is is under panchayats’ liberty to use it for development projects. The rural bodies have to submit proposals related to infrastructure development and other works related to collective developments.

This fund cannot be spent for salaries, transport or administrative expenditure. Eyeing the upcoming panchayat elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee issued directives to complete the unfinished projects on war footing measure. She, on several occasion, also accused the Centre for not releasing funds under MGNREGA which resulted economic hardship among the people of rural Bengal. “If we fail to spend the fund granted by the Centre, next year the volume of the grant will be less,” said  an official.