The Bengal government has set up a team comprising officials from four departments — finance, panchayat and rural development, education and health — for talks with the Centre over the release of funds but Nabanna is yet to hear anything from Delhi.

Sources in the state administration said that it was decided during a meeting between the chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on December 20 that the Centre would also set up a team for talks with Bengal's officials over the release of pending funds — worth about Rs 20,000 crore — under several projects. Although no date was given, it was conveyed to the state that the meeting would take place “soon.”

“The state government has set up its team and completed its groundwork by gathering information from the districts. But Delhi is yet to inform us whether it has set up the team and the date of the meeting,” said a senior bureaucrat.

Senior government officials said that if the Centre delays the meeting, the state government may not be in a position to utilise the funds even if they are released.

“It is already mid-January. If funds are released after the meeting even in the first week of February, it would be tough for the state to utilise the funds in this financial year as a series of procedures have to be followed before using funds at the grassroots. If the funds remain unused, they go back to central coffers,” said a bureaucrat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File photo

The official explained that if funds are released under the 100 days’ job scheme right now, the gram panchayats have to prepare detailed project reports and get those verified before spending funds under the schemes. This is a time-consuming process and cannot be done overnight.

“As no fund was allotted by the Centre under the 100 days’ job scheme at the start of the financial year, none of the panchayats prepared the DPRs to undertake projects under the MGNREGS. Later, panchayat polls were held and the newly elected panchayats were yet to prepare the DPRs,” said the bureaucrat.

Similarly, the state has to verify the list of 11.46 lakh beneficiaries even if the Centre releases funds under the rural housing scheme.

According to sources, the team set up by the state includes secretaries and one senior official each from panchayat, finance, health and education.

The finance department will be the nodal department for this meeting as and when it is scheduled.