West Bengal anti-chit fund Bill gets Centre's clearance: Amit Mitra, Finance Minister

KOLKATA: West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said on Tuesday that the Centre has approved an anti-chit fund Bill passed by the state assembly in 2013. He said the government received a letter on Monday evening from the Centre giving green signal to the West Bengal Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Bill.

“The Centre has also agreed to the state government's proposal of having provisions for strong punishment in such financial crimes, which was also in the Bill,” Mitra told reporters.

The Centre had earlier cited provisions in the anti-chit fund Act in Tamil Nadu where offenders in such cases could be released on bail after paying fines. But after persuasion by the West Bengal government, the Centre has agreed to include punishment along with fines for such offenders, the minister said.

The Bill will be brought up for discussion in the state assembly on Thursday.

Interestingly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not be present at the state assembly when the Bill will be discussed. She is touring north Bengal and will hold an administrative meeting at Darjeeling on Wednesday. She will be back in Kolkata on Friday. The opposition CPI(M) has been demanding the chief minister's presence in the house when the Bill will be discussed.