Central “deprivation”, “blocking of funds”, and “not respecting” the principles of cooperative federalism will be the focal points for opposition-ruled states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka in the upcoming NITI Aayog governing council meeting on July 27.
The meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to witness a stormy session, with INDIA bloc chief ministers raising financial issues and allocations. The prime minister, however, is likely to speak elaborately on the ‘Viksit Bharat’ agenda in the meetings post-Budget.
The opposition-ruled states are likely to express concerns about the flow of central funds, including for MGNREGA, while NDA-ruled states such as Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are expected to seek special packages for “rebuilding” their state finances, according to government sources.
The senior officers of NITI Aayog, however, maintained that the allocation for MGNREGA has never gone down.
“The Centre allocates money for the specific scheme once the work is done. The budget allocation may look smaller than earlier but later, the allocation always increases. However, the government has made it clear that the work under MGNREGA should include asset creation and not only digging ditches,” said a senior officer of the Aayog.
The Aayog, in its recommendation, has also presented the current condition of Bihar’s finances. The state may see a special package in the upcoming budget as part of ‘central intervention’, said another senior officer.
‘Central Deprivation’
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has skipped multiple NITI Aayog meetings earlier, has said that she would attend the upcoming meeting. She has also sought an appointment with PM Modi. Speaking to News18, a senior officer of the state said the chief minister would raise the issue of central “deprivation” of funds.
“The state government has been raising the issues of pending central funds of around Rs 1.18 lakh crore, meant for MGNREGA payments. Apart from that, there are issues related to cooperative federalism. The chief minister may mention those as well,” he added.
A senior source in the Karnataka government has expressed similar concerns. “Our finance department is listing pending fund issues. The chief minister has earlier raised the issues with authorities concerned and at the right central forum. He is likely to speak over such issues again,” added the officer.
A senior leader of Trinamool Congress said the leaders of INDIA bloc-ruled states have spoken about ‘central deprivation’ to opposition-ruled states and they will speak about the issues together at the forum. “The chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bengal and Jharkhand share similar concern,” he added.
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