Bengal Budget realistic, assures people that govt is with them: Min

kolkata: State Finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharjee on Tuesday termed the state Budget that was presented at the Assembly on Friday as realistic and catering to the benefits of people hailing from all the stratum of society.

"The Budget has shown a particular direction which has assured the people of the state that the government is committed to stand by them," Bhattacharjee said in her reply in connection with the state Budget that was passed at the Assembly on Tuesday.

The minister alleged that Centre still owes Bengal Rs 90,000 crore from which includes even the protected revenue of GST to the tune of nearly Rs 6,000 crore in connection with 2021-22 fiscal. "Considering the Covid situation, the extension of the GST compensation from three to 5 years was sought but no response has been elicited," Bhattacharjee added.

Even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has personally met the Prime Minister and written to him on more than one occasion seeking extension of the GST compensation from three to 5 years because of the pandemic.The minister mentioned several schemes in which the Centre had slashed funds in context of the 2018-19 fiscal in the Union Budget for 2022-23 that includes MGNREGA where the Budget had dropped from Rs 1.11 lakh crore to 73,000 crore, Swatch Bharat from Rs 12,913 crore to Rs 6,192 crore, minority development from Rs 3,948 crore to Rs 1,162 crore to name a few.

"In widow pension, the state is giving Rs 800 and the Centre only Rs 200," Bhattacharjee alleged.

Referring to allegations of lesser allocation in the North Bengal Development department that was raised by several BJP legislators, the minister said Rs 797.42 crore have been allocated for the department which excludes the funds for various other departments like Higher Education, Health and Family Welfare, Public Works Department, Public Health Engineering department etc.

"A reasonable part of the funds in these departments will be carried out for the development of North Bengal. So we have given equal emphasis to this part of the state too,"

she added.