Mamata wrests Rs 25K crore allocation from Plan panel

The Annual Plan for the state was fixed during a meeting between the Commission’s deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Banerjee during a two-hour long meeting.

Banerjee insisted that this should not be viewed as a special package to Bengal but it was merely central plan outlay already due to the state.

“We are really grateful to the Planning Commission. We are happy that the Commission has approved them,” Banerjee told reporters.

But asking the Centre to do more for the state,its chief minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded a three-year moratorium on repayment of interest on debt amounting to Rs 20,000 crore.

Demanding a three year moratorium on the repayment of interest on debt,Banerjee said,“We have not created this problem. It is a Left legacy. But people are facing this problem because of the legacy. That is why we want minimum three year moratorium on repayment,” she argued.

Acknowledging the issue,Ahluwalia said,“The decision on moratorium is in realm of the finance ministry. But it is true that West Bengal is one of the states which is debt-ridden and it is reflected in the data also. It is certainly true that the state government is presently bearing the burden of debt more than average burden of other states.”

According to the Reserve Bank of India,West Bengal has a debt stock of around Rs 2 lakh crore.