West Bengal Economy Slowly Recovering, Says CM Suvendu Adhikari

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said the state's fiscal health has begun to improve, albeit slowly, following the government's decision to link the state with various Central schemes, a move he claimed was obstructed by the previous regime. “Because of the fiscal indiscipline of the previous regime and the huge revenue losses caused by corruption, West Bengal’s economy was pushed to the verge of bankruptcy. The situation was further aggravated by the previous government’s reluctance to join various Centrally sponsored schemes.

I cannot say that the state’s economic health has fully recovered yet. I personally feel it may take a year for us to come out of the economic crisis. However, there are signs of a gradual revival. We have decided to join various Central schemes, and as a result, more funds are now coming to the state,” the Chief Minister said. He was addressing a function held to mark the beginning of the disbursement of enhanced old-age, widow and disability allowances in the state. Previously, the beneficiaries under these three schemes in the state were entitled to a monthly payment of Rs 1,000. However, from Monday, the same beneficiaries have started receiving an enhanced amount of Rs 1,500.

The CM said that the BJP-led new state government took some measures to eliminate the scope for revenue leakages, which he expects will improve the state’s own tax revenue by 18 per cent. “We have been able to plug such revenue leakages to a great extent. I hope these leakages will be addressed further in the coming days, leading to a further improvement in the state’s own revenue generation,” Adhikari said. According to him, his government is also focusing on the identification of fake beneficiaries under different welfare schemes. “Our aim is to ensure that only genuine beneficiaries receive these benefits. There have been instances of men receiving widow allowances.

Such irregularities will be eliminated,” he said. The Chief Minister also announced the “waiting lists” of beneficiaries prepared during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime. “All the waiting lists of the previous government stand cancelled from today. We will hold public welfare camps again. Everyone will go there and make fresh applications,” Adhikari said.

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