Kolkata: A day ahead of the Union Budget, the state Finance Minister Amit Mitra came down heavily on the Centre for violating Bengal's constitutional right by delaying the release of compensation after implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
After presenting the Budget proposal worth Rs 2,14,958.75 crore for the financial year 2018-19, Mitra said the compensation that Bengal is supposed to get is Rs 1,850 crore in the past six months. But till date, the Centre has cleared only Rs 1,000 crore. "We are yet to receive Rs 850 crore which is our constitutional right," he said.
In this connection, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said hasty implementation of the GST without proper infrastructure in place and demonetisation had affected the economy of the country majorly. Stating that she is not against the GST, Banerjee maintained that the objection is against its hasty implementation.
Mitra further said that the state government needs to give salaries to its employees on the first of every month while the Centre sends the money under different schemes on the 15th of every month. "They don't think that how the state will manage the situation when the release of funds is delayed by 15 days," he said adding that they changed the date without any consultation.
Banerjee said this was a common problem that all the other states, including Bengal, are facing.
She also raised the issue that why all the debt burden was not waived with the introduction of the new tax regime.
The Chief Minister has also demanded publication of the white paper by the Centre as people have the right to know the exact facts and figures regarding recovery of black money. "As a common man, I also have the right to know the amount of black money that has been recovered and this is the right time for publication of the white paper," Banerjee said. She further stated that according to her, Thursday's Budget is going to be a pro-election one.
It may be mentioned that this would be the last full-fledged Budget before the Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held in 2019.
She also slammed the Centre for a daily price hike of petrol and diesel saying that every sector from transport to kitchen room at home has been affected. "The Union government must do something against the price hike of fuel on daily basis or else the economy of the country would collapse," she added.
Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister added: "Many farmers suffer as they incur a loss with excessive production of food grains and vegetables including potato, rice and onion. So, the special fund of Rs 100 crore is being created to provide financial support to farmers."
The Mamata Banerjee government has proposed to introduce "Rupashree" scheme to provide one-time financial assistance of Rs 25,000 to the family of a girl at the time of marriage. This comes at the time when Bengal has bagged the United Nations Public Service Award for the Asia Pacific in The Netherlands for the Kanyashree Prakalpa, which has ensured a check in dropout rates of girl students from schools.
The Budget would help create employment opportunities, she added.
With the Panchayat polls in the state due in the middle of the year, Banerjee said: "Don't construe that since this is the election year, the Budget was made keeping that in mind."
According to her, the state has been able to generate 8.92 lakh jobs, both in the government and private sector.