Governor accuses Chief Minister of depriving 70 lakh farmers of benefits in West Bengal
Sep 22, 2020
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 22 : West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankar on Tuesday said that had West Bengal government taken timely and due steps, over 70 lakh farmers in West Bengal would have been benefited from PM-Kisan Yojana.
Addressing a press conference here, he said, "Each of the over 70 lakh farmers would have so far got Rs 12,000 directly in the bank account without any intermediary. The total loss has been 8,400 crores or more to the farmer."
Dhankar said, "I wrote a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee several times but there was no response.
"The Chief Minister has failed to send a response to the governor on the critical issue of farmer even after I wrote several letters," he said.
"It is very poor governance...I am a son of a farmer and know the problems of farmers...So far six instalment under Kisan Yojna have been issued. Its reaching to 90 crores of farmers and the scheme is transparent," added Dhankar.
He also said that all the information should be shared to the Governor but there has been violation of rules of business.
"Letter written by the Chief Minister on September 9, 2020 released today...I would like to tell under rules of business all the information to be shared to the Governor but this violation continues for more than 13 months now," he said.
"September 9 communication of Chief Minister is a confession and a serious lapse," added Dhankar.
His remarks came after the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee released a letter dated September 9 this year to Centre in which she had said the PM-Kisan and Ayushman Bharat schemes will be implemented in West Bengal if the funds are routed through the state government.
In a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Banerjee said the state government has already introduced the Krishak Bandhu scheme for the farmers.
"However, we will be happy to provide benefits to the farmers under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, and in that case, the Central government may transfer the requisite fund direct to the state government for further disbursement with full responsibility to the beneficiaries through the state government machinery," she said.
Meanwhile, in a letter to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Banerjee said that under the Swasthya Sathi scheme the state government was providing free treatment to the people of West Bengal.
"Ayushman Bharat Scheme may be extended by the government of India with entire 100 per cent expenditure for the scheme. In such a case, the entire funding for the scheme may be routed through the state government," she said.
