'Centre has burdened state govts by reducing funding of schemes'

New Delhi: The Centre has burdened the state governments by cancelling several necessary schemes and reducing its share in many jointly funded schemes, said TMC member Derek O'Brien in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

O'Brien said the ruling BJP had promised in its 2019 election manifesto to pursue federal governance by ensuring greater involvement of the states in all aspects of policy making, but the Central government failed to do so.

"When the BJP came into power in 2014, the states were spending 46 per cent more than the Union government on various schemes, but in 2021-22, states spent 150 per cent more than the Union government," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader said.

Moreover, 29 of the 98 Bills passed between 2014 and 2021 were "anti-federal in nature", he said and accused the Centre of acting as the "economic blockade" of the state governments. "States have been burdened because the Centre cancelled schemes seven years ago and one of the schemes was the backward region grant funds," he said, adding that "it was so important for the states that they have to continue the scheme."

While speaking on FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management), O'Brien said, "You took it up from 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent and now this year, you have brought the state borrowing down to 3.5 per cent."

According to him, when this limit was increased to four per cent, some conditions were imposed on the state governments such as the privatisation of electricity.

"Please take it back to 4 per cent and this should be unconditional," he added.

The Upper House was having a debate on the Appropriation Bills (Nos. 4 and 5), 2022.