Mamata Banerjee didn't fail to implement key rural schemes in Bengal

NEW DELHI | KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee may have been positioning herself as perhaps the fiercest critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but this has not stopped her from ensuring that the state figures among the better implementers of key central schemes, especially the schemes targeted at the rural population.

So much so that West Bengal has outdone other states in certain schemes and bagged awards from the Centre for doing so.

For instance, the Centre has adjudged West Bengal as the best state in the country on the parameter of achieving “convergence and livelihood augmentation” through its flagship rural jobs scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Similarly, West Bengal figures among the three best states in implementing the rural housing scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Grameen (PMAY-G).


Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas have been awarded for being the best performing districts under this scheme.

“Banerjee has held at least 440 administrative meetings in districts where she could reach the bottom of the pyramid in terms of the officers involved in the district administration set-up. This is the key factor for the success in implementation of all schemes, both central and state,” West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra told ET.

Senior central government officials backed this assertion, telling ET on condition of anonymity that West Bengal has also been performing better than most other states in terms of readiness for the PM Jan Arogya Yojana or Ayushman Bharat scheme, and in Saubhagya, Swachh Bharat and Ujjwala schemes.

The state has achieved 64% completion of its target under Saubhagya to electrify homes, higher than the national average of 42% completion so far. Besides, 65 lakh Ujjwala LPG connections have been released in West Bengal, second only to Uttar Pradesh, while West Bengal is set to turn open defecation-free (ODF) in the next few months, having achieved nearly 96% ODF coverage so far.

The state has, however, been lukewarm towards the Centre’s urban schemes, an indication that the Banerjee government is focusing on those central schemes that are targeted at the ruling Trinamool Congress’ core vote bank among rural voters or urban poor. For instance, it has refused to participate in the Centre’s ‘Smart Cities’ programme.

State government officials said that despite West Bengal’s “tremendous performance”, the Centre has yet to clear dues of Rs 7,023 crore. “This amount includes Rs 1,600 crore that is pending for MGNREGA. We cannot hold payments till the release of central funds, which is very slow. This is why we need to borrow funds and do financial management to keep central schemes going in the state,” said a state government official, who did not wish to be identified.

Mitra said the formula for the success of the state in implementing central schemes is simply that officials from the chief secretary to all ministers concerned and MLAs to block development officers remain present at the CM-chaired meetings, which are televised for transparency. “The reasons for any delay in implementation also get sorted out in those meetings. The accountability remains and responsibility for any lapses is also fixed immediately,” he said.

The Banerjee government has also received the highest national award for IT-based social programme for its ‘Kanyashree’ scheme and 21 national awards for various schemes including its e-taxation, integrated financial management and e-Abgari, state officials said. In addition, they said, the state has won Krishi Karman awards in agri-production for five consecutive years, national marketing awards in handloom products from NITI Aayog for the state’s brand, Tantuja, golden peacock innovative products and services awards, national award for rural housing and rural connectivity and national awards for provision of loans for minorities and scholarships.

The state increased its capital expenditure more than eight times, Mitra said, to Rs 19,085 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 2,225 crore in 2010-11, and plan expenditure nearly five times to Rs 57,779 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 11,838 crore in 2010-11. “Tax collection has seen almost a threefold leap. From Rs 21,128 crore in 2010-11, it jumped to Rs 52,389 crore in 2017-18,” he said.