Central Armed Police Forces | representative image. , Photo Credit: AM Farooqui
The West Bengal government has said that the deployment of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) during the assembly elections should be borne by the Indian government and not the states. The statement came in response to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement on Friday that West Bengal owed Rs 1,841 crore to the Center for deployment of CAPFs in the state.
“The forces have been deployed as per the instructions of the Election Commission of India. The consent of the state governments is not taken regarding the need for deployment of central forces during these elections. Accordingly, the expenditure related to deployment of CAPF personnel for election duty should be borne by the Government of India and not by the states,” said a statement from the West Bengal government. Hundreds of CAPF companies were deployed in the state during 2021. The assembly elections which were held in eight phases.
The state government also said that central forces remain deployed even after the election process is over. The West Bengal government also said that the expenditure related to the deployment of central forces in LWE (Left Wing Extremism) affected areas, which is a national issue, should be borne by the Indian government.
The state government also rejected the Union Finance Minister’s remark that West Bengal has not sent the GST Compensation Cess claim along with the Accountant General (AG) certificate from the financial year 2017-18 to 2021-22.
Noting that the GST compensation was payable to the States for a period of five years from 01.07.2017 to 30.06.2022, the press statement from West Bengal claimed that so far compensation has been paid on net basis only for two years i.e. 2017 Has been done -18 and 2018-19.
Compensation has been released on the basis of gross revenue for the remaining period i.e. FY 2019-20, FY 2020-21, FY 2021-22 and the period from 01.04.2022 to 30.06.2022. If the net revenue is considered, West Bengal owes Rs 2,409.96 crore to the Government of India.
On the issue raised by the Finance Minister that the reconciliation report is awaited from the State regarding the Gram Sadak Yojana, the State Government stated that information was sought through mail and all have been sent to them and no queries till date has been raised. The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) opposed the report.
“GST Compensation Cess claim with AG certificate is an option for contractors/agencies to claim, but no contractor/agency has submitted any such claim as per the format of Ministry of Rural Development, hence the same could not be sent . This is not a mandatory criterion for release of funds.
As far as West Bengal is concerned, the issue of pending central funds has been central to the Centre-state relations. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had raised the issue of pending funds in her public meetings and during her one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Center has not disbursed funds for MGNREGS to the state since December 2021 over allegations of corruption in the implementation of the scheme. Due to non-payment of MNREGA dues, the employment guarantee scheme has come to a complete standstill in the state.