Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she had at her meeting with Narendra Modi demanded the prompt and time-bound release of Bengal’s frozen central dues, and that the Prime Minister had proposed setting up a joint meeting of officials from the Centre and the state government to work towards a resolution.

The chief minister, who led a nine-MP delegation to meet the Prime Minister at 11am, handed over a memorandum during a 25-minute meeting that was their fourth on the matter.

“The Prime Minister said today that there would be a joint meeting between his officials and mine,” Mamata said at a brief interaction with journalists at Vijay Chowk.

“(Quoting Modi) ‘If there is any clarification needed there….’ I said ‘We have given clarifications 155 times (to central probe or fact-finding teams)’.”

Mamata added: “But if there is need for more despite that, officials can surely meet officials, and they can decide the formula.”

The MPs who accompanied her were Abhishek Banerjee from Diamond Harbour, Sudip Bandyopadhyay from Calcutta North, Saugata Roy from Dum Dum, Pratima Mondal from Jaynagar, Sajda Ahmed from Uluberia, Satabdi Roy from Birbhum, and Derek O’Brien, Nadimul Haque and Prakash Chik Baraik from the Rajya Sabha.

A source with substantial experience in administration and Centre-state parleys said: “Such a negotiation on this matter, at a joint meeting between officials of the Centre and the state, in a committee-like structure is essentially a giveaway that the PM knows that the Nabanna demands — being raised by Trinamul politically — are tenable and well-warranted.”

The source added: “Provided this is actually carried out and does not remain lip service.”

According to Mamata, the frozen central dues add up to Rs 1.16 lakh crore, of which around Rs 16,000 crore isthe foremost priority, withheld under the MGNREGA, the PMAY and the PMGSY alone.

“In the federal structure, the Centre has a share, and the states also have a share… this (Union) government has not been giving its share,” the chief minister said.

“Because the money meant for the poor should not remain withheld, we said that,” she added. “The Prime Minister listened attentively, and said ‘All right, two officials (presumably, one each) from the Centre and the state should meet and we will take a decision… so that there is a way out of this’. This is the result of the discussion.”

Asked if she had set a deadline for the release of the funds, she said Modi was told the process should be time-bound.

“He said, ‘Yes, yes, we will make it time-bound’,” said Mamata, quoting Modi.

In the memorandum submitted to Modi, the pending dues include MGNREGA payment of Rs 6,911 crore — Rs 3,732 crore as wage liability and Rs 3,179 crore against non-wage liabilities — besides the central share for 11,01,731 houses sanctioned under the PMAY, and funds under the PMGSY and the National Health Mission.

The memorandum says that despite the legacy of a debt burden of Rs 2 lakh crore from the previous regime, and even after Rs 5 lakh crore in debt-servicing, Bengal has achieved “remarkable progress” since 2011. The GSDP in 12 years has increased from Rs 4.60 lakh crore (2010-11) to Rs 15.54 lakh crore (2022-23), it adds.

“Despite our excellent all-round performance in all areas, we are not getting our share of resources from the central pool, which rightfully belong to the people of the state. Depriving the people of Bengal of their rightful claim on development funds has pushed millions into untold misery and poverty,” Mamata has written in the memorandum.

“As chief minister of an important state and in that capacity, you had fought for the rights of the state and its people in our federal structure. States have a very important role to play in the development of this great country,” she has added. “Any step taken unilaterally by the Centre, which undermines the position of the state or the sentiments and self-respect of its people, will only weaken this country. We cannot and should not allow people of any state to suffer for whatever reasons.”

The meeting, which took place in an atmosphere of general cordiality, began with Modi asking about the state of Mamata’s knee, which has been giving her trouble over the past few months and required surgical intervention.

“She told him she was doing much better now, and hoped he was doing well. He then said she really must take proper care of not only her leg but her health in general,” said a source.

After the meeting, Modi took Mamata for a brief, walking tour of his office area in the new Parliament complex.