If Centre doesn’t clear dues by April 1, state will build the 11L houses: CM
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee clarified on Tuesday that if the Centre does not clear the dues under the Awas Yojana scheme the state will build 11 lakh houses using its own funds.
“We will wait till April 1. If the Centre does not release funds for Awas Yojana by then our government will build 11 lakh houses for the beneficiaries. We are demanding our legitimate rights from the Centre but will not beg them for it,” Banerjee said while addressing a public distribution programme at Purulia.
She pointed out that the development boards of the different tribal communities are also constructing houses for the tribals. “We will also build houses for the ones who applied through ‘Sarasari Mukhyomantri’. This will increase the total number of houses to be constructed by another 5 to 6 lakhs. Hence, we will be constructing around 17 lakh houses,” Banerjee added.
She highlighted the state has started paying the 100 days workers who were denied wages by the Centre and assured that in a few days, all dues will be cleared. More than 50 lakh workers will be paid. “The people of the state should ask them (Centre) during elections as to why they have deprived the various communities in Bengal of MGNREGA wages,” Banerjee said.
The state government has started sending the dues to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries from Monday and will complete the entire process by March 1. “On the very first day, 34 lakh beneficiaries were paid by us and till Tuesday dues of over 55 lakh beneficieries were cleared,” Pradip Majumder, state Panchayats and Rural Development (P &RD) minister said.
On the Sandeshkhali issue, Banerjee reiterated that she will not let anyone grab tribal lands and that her government has already notified no tribal land can be transferred.
On the demand for tribal status by the Mahato community, Banerjee said that can be only done by the Centre. “We have undertaken a survey of the geographic area inhabited by the Mahato community in Bengal. We will try our best to fulfil their demands but I request there should be no clash between the Mahato and other tribals. Many from the Mahato community are also tribals,” she added.
Banerjee said that the state government wrote to the Centre on more than one occasion demanding recognition for Sari and Sarna as a religion. “If they do not do the needful, we will intensify our movement,” she threatened. She also appealed to the tribal community to convey their grievances directly to her.
