Trinamool team led by Abhishek submits memo to Union Minister

A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs, led by the party’s national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, submitted a memorandum to the office of Giriraj Singh, Union minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, demanding revocation of Section 27 of the MGNREGA Act and release of the funds due to Bengal.

The memorandum addressed to the Union minister, signed by the TMC MPs, stated that it was almost a year ago that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting clearance of outstanding dues to Bengal under various Central schemes. Following that, several letters were sent from TMC requesting the same but to date, funds have not been disbursed to Bengal.

The memorandum highlighted that as of April 2023, the dues owed to Bengal under various schemes such as MGNREGA, PMGSY, PMAY, and NSAP stand at approximately Rs 12,300 crore.

The letter also highlighted that the Union government is depriving lakhs of families of hard-earned wages.

It read: “What is rightfully due to them in 15 days is not being paid even after one year. In March 2022, the Union government invoked Section 27 of the MGNREGA Act upon the State and stopped wage payments to poor unemployed people in rural areas.”

It was clarified that the minor deviations in implementation which were pointed out by the Centre and cited as a reason for not disbursing the funds were immediately addressed and the action taken report was submitted by the state government.

“Funds were still not released. Nearly 17 lakh households are in distress for more than one year. The State maintains that the Union government should immediately revoke Section 27 of the MGNREGA Act,” the memorandum read.

TMC MPs asserted that MGNREGA is a right guaranteed by an Act of Parliament. “The Union government cannot withhold the rights of the people by not sanctioning man-days (person-days) and delaying payments,” it stated.

A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs on Wednesday held talks with Rural Development Ministry officials after being unable to meet Union minister Giriraj Singh.

“We will not let 17 lakh families of Bengal be deprived by the BJP. We will continue to raise our voices until MGNREGS funds are released. Without an assurance, we will not leave. We’re not here for tea and snacks,” he told reporters.

Abhishek said party leaders had spoken to the minister and were asked to meet him on Wednesday. “I was told that he went to Parliament today (Wednesday). We came here once it was adjourned. We will wait for 10-12 days and if they do not release the funds we will take to the streets,” he said, adding that neither the minister nor the junior minister was available.

Concerning funds under the Awas Yojana, TMC demanded that the Union government also release all the funds due under the Awas Yojana so that Bengal no longer faces any hurdle in improving the living conditions of its people and can provide adequate housing facilities.

The memorandum highlighted that despite Bengal sanctioning the highest number of houses in the country within the given time limit, the Union government is yet to release the initial instalments to the beneficiaries.