KOLKATA: In an apparent image makeover bid amid allegations of scams and corruption against her party functionaries, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked TMC MPs and MLAs to contribute to the rural housing schemes for the poor, a Centre-funded project, by spending their local area development fund for one year.
The decision hints at Mamata’s desperation to do something for the poor ahead of 2023 panchayat polls, political observers say. The Centre is not releasing funds for MGNREGA and housing scheme for Bengal after finding lax implementation in the state.
“TMC is on the back foot following the arrests of Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal by central agencies. Raids on Malay Ghatak by the CBI proved more damaging. Mamata now wants to portray Bengal as a welfare state,’’ said a party leader, adding that at a time when party leaders are accused in multi-crore scams, villagers are not getting jobs or houses.
TMC has 213 MLAs and 39 MPs, including those in Rajya Sabha. Each MP and MLA gets Rs 5 crore and Rs 60 lakh, respectively, every year for local area development. “The MP and MLA funds together make over Rs 320 crore. It can be used to take the rural housing scheme forward in the absence of central funds,’’ said a bureaucrat in the state secretariat.