Siphoning off central funds trademark of Mamata government, Suvendu Adhikari writes to PM Modi

New Delhi: Drawing attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards the massive financial scam unfolding in West Bengal, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday penned a letter to him alleging that the siphoning off and diverting funds allocated for central government schemes has become the trademark of Mamata government.

Siphoning & diverting funds allocated by the Union Ministry of Rural Development for each & every Central Govt scheme, has been the trademark of WB Govt.
I have written to Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, drawing his attention towards the massive financial scam unfolding in WB: pic.twitter.com/DVtuKWBu2w

— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) August 6, 2022

Day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met the Prime Minister seeking  release of GST dues and outstanding funds under various schemes, Adhikari, in a four-page letter, alleged that every day innumerous incidents of malpractices are unearthed across West Bengal.

"This has become an ongoing and continuous process. Very often news reports keep surfacing that novel kinds of means and ways are being adopted to carry out corrupt activities and swindle money granted through these schemes for public welfare," the letter read.

Suvendu said that these days, as it's being reported by media, a news avenue has been create to siphon off crores of rupees.

"MGNREGA funds are being utilised for plantation of saplings, mangrove saplings and other varieties of fruit-bearing plants as well. On documents it's being claimed that thousands of hectares of land have been covered under the said initiative. However, the reality is strikingly far from it. At the time of inspection, its being claimed that the plants have been washed away in cyclonic storms like Yass and Amphan or other natural calamities. Even the naturally grown plants are shown as planted through man-days created under MGNREGA," he wrote in the letter.

He alleged that MGNREGA has been turned into a money-minting scheme by the local level ruling party functionaries.

"As of now, central teams are surveying some panchayats in Bengal and you would be astonished to know that this has made panchayat representatives and authorities nervous. Many panchayat offices are functioning at the dark hours of the night, not for the welfare of the people, but for m0ving and shifting documents that would incriminate them eventually if they find find their way to the central team members," he wrote.

In the letter, he also accused the state government and the administration of flouting rules and norms  while implementing other central schemes.

"The have deliberately changed the original names of the central schemes and used their own whimsical names instead for such schemes. Only when a central inspection/audit team visits a certain location, the local authorities change the name plate or the sign board overnight to misguide the vising team into believing that the due compliance has been adhered to," he wrote.

He further went on to say that corruption has been institutionalised in West Bengal by the state government itself and the people who are in control of the government.

Mamata Banerjee had met the Prime Minister on Friday seeking release of GST dues and outstanding funds under various schemes.

In a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Banerjee said she had repeatedly sought his intervention for urgent release of funds due to the state on account of the implementation of the rural job scheme MGNREGA, PM Awas Yojana and the PM Gramin Sadak Yojana.

The amount due to the state under these schemes stood at about Rs 17,996.32 crore, she said.

In her memorandum, Banerjee has tabulated the total amount due to the state under different schemes and benefits.

The amount that is due to the state from the central government as on 31 July has been estimated to be around Rs 1,00,968.44 crore.

Banerjee has often accused the BJP-led central government of delaying the payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) dues to states, especially the ones ruled by opposition parties.

Banerjee's meeting with the Prime Minister came close on the heels of the Enforcement Directorate arresting now-removed West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee and recovering huge cash and jewellery in connection with an alleged school jobs scam.

However, it was not known if the issue featured in the meeting.

Her meeting also led to murmurs in Bengal of a possible "understanding" with the BJP over Chatterjee's case and other investigations by central agencies.

With inputs from agencies

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