Centre sends teams to Bengal again to probe rural jobs scheme

The ministry of rural development has made the decision to dispatch teams to Bengal once more in order to look into complaints regarding the implementation of rural employment and housing schemes. Delhi had, approximately a year ago, stopped the release of funds for these schemes due to alleged irregularities.

Senior Nabanna bureaucrats claimed that the teams' visit gave a strong indication that the funds associated with the schemes might not be released during the current fiscal year.

In an effort to look into claims of irregularities in the implementation of various rural development schemes over the previous two years, the Center sent teams to Bengal several times. Every time the Center requested that we take action following the visit of Union government officials, the state responded with action-taken reports, or ATRs. The money was not, however, released. A bureaucrat stated, "It appears like there is another attempt to postpone the release of the funds even longer."

The teams would visit districts such as North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Bankura, Birbhum, East Burdwan, Cooch Behar, Howrah, Hooghly, Purulia, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Jalpaiguri between December 5 and 8, according to sources in the state panchayat department.

By December 15, the central teams will have directly sent reports to the Ministry of Rural Development.

The state panchayat department's sources were unsure of the nature of the complaints the ministry had been receiving regarding the schemes, especially since they had been unable to be implemented for the past year or so due to funding non-release.

The central teams may check the ATR that the state recently sent, according to a senior government official in Bengal.

"The Center had written to the Bengal government in mid-November, highlighting certain concerns about the rural housing and 100-day employment guarantee programs, and requesting that the state submit a new ATR by November 30. The teams will probably look into whether action was really taken locally or if the matter was only brought up in the report that was sent to Delhi, the official stated.

According to the sources, the state has acted in multiple ways each time the central teams have identified a weakness in the plans' implementation.

Insiders close to the Trinamul Congress said that the decision to send the teams once more showed how much pressure the BJP-led Centre was under.

"Abhishek Banerjee initially organized protests in Calcutta and Delhi, calling for the disbursement of funds from programs for rural development. Subsequently, the chief minister declared she would spearhead the movement in advance of the Lok Sabha elections. A Trinamul leader stated, "It is evident that the BJP-led Centre is facing pressure, which is why it is attempting to further postpone the release of funds by sending central teams.

According to the BJP, central teams were traveling to the state to verify that all necessary precautions against corruption under the schemes had been taken.

"False ATRs were sent by the state government. The state did not take legal action against the panchayat functionaries involved in the defalcation, nor did it retrieve the funds that were embezzled under the 100-day job scheme. Thus, it makes sense that the Center would dispatch teams to the state on a regular basis to see if measures were genuinely taken to prevent corruption before disbursing funds under the schemes," a state BJP leader stated.

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