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Centre releases Rs 632.6 million for West Bengal

The funds released by the rural development ministry, despite not having received the utilisation certificate of the first instalment, reflected the Centre's keenness that the grave situation be met on 'a massive scale'.

Announcing this at a press conference in New Delhi, Union Rural Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the funds had been made available to the state government under the Employment Assurance Scheme, the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojna and the Indira Awas Yojna to the nine flood affected districts of the state.

However, Naidu refused to join issue with the state government over the issue of 'unutilisation and diversification' of funds by the state government, saying that for him 'development is the first priority and not politics'.

The minister said his Cabinet colleague Satish Kumar, officials from other departments and his ministry had already submitted their reports on the flood situation. Besides, the prime minister had given directions to extend all possible help to the state.

Claiming that the Centre was seized with the situation, Naidu said he had also reviewed the position with regard to the funds available with West Bengal under different programmes of the ministry.

He said as per available information, the expenditure incurred by the state this year was Rs 1.30 billion against the total available funds of Rs. 5.24 billion, which worked out to 24 per cent.

During 1999-2000, the overall utilisation of funds had been about Rs 4.65 billion of the total available funds of Rs 8.70 billion, which worked out to 53. 25 per cent, he said adding that the state could not draw Rs 2.31 billion during the last financial year.

He said he had also written a letter to Chief Minister Jyoti Basu seeking his 'personal intervention' to meet the grave situation.

The state government had sought a sum of Rs 14.27 billion to meet the flood situation.

UNI

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