Thiruvananthapuram: The Centre has refused to transfer nearly Rs 1,500 crore the state is entitled to as part of the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme. This includes a shortage of Rs 856 crore during the 2016-17 fiscal. Besides, the wage arrears amounted to Rs 636 crore. Local Administration minister K.T. Jaleel said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The centre is releasing very less amounts to Kerala, causing lot of hardhips to workers, who have not been paid since the last six months,” the minister said in the Assembly on Tuesday.
The minister said that he had written to Rural Development and Panchayatiraj Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar in December last year, and again in February this year informing him about the undue delay in MGNREGA fund release.
He said that the Centre was adopting a discriminatory attitude towards the state.
“We get the least allotment for MGNREGS funds in the country,” Mr Jaleel said. The state had to get Rs 2,438.62 crore as MGNREGS allocation during 2016-17. But it received just Rs 1,582.48 crore, a shortage of 1856 crore.
"I had given a proposal to the Centre on January 18 this year asking for the release of the remaining funds. The Centre did not oblige," the minister said. "Later, we pressed for the remaining funds, the wage arrears, and funds for this fiscal's initial expenses. All that we got for our troubles was Rs 163 crore," the minister added.
Despite the shortage of funds, the minister said that the implementation of MGNREGS was implemented in a commendable manner during 2016-17.
