Panchayat elections have just ended. And the central government started to increase the pressure as soon as it did not stop. BJP lost again in Bengal. There is a fierce conflict between the center and the state. Because of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana project. This time the government of Narendra Modi has issued a new order. According to sources, strong objections were raised as soon as the letter came to Navanna. However, not only Mamata Banerjee’s government has objected to this new decree of the Centre, but all the AJP-ruled state governments have also objected.
Why was the objection raised? According to the Centre’s new order, it is mandatory to take the approval of MPs at every level, from planning to inauguration of paved roads in villages under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana scheme. Now BJP has 16 MPs in the state. So they have to take permission to do village road planning work. And Mamata Banerjee’s government is unwilling to accept this new order. Because already through the Pathashree or Rastasree project, the state government has started doing everything from construction to repair of rural roads. However, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has written to all the states of the country saying that these rules of the Center should be followed letter by letter. Objections have been raised about it.
The state government feels that MPs are not the only people’s representatives. Elected MLAs of the area, Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad members are also public representatives to build rural roads. Nabanna believes that there is a politics of establishing dominance behind only adding MPs by keeping them aside. So the officers of Nabanna think that everyone’s opinion should be taken. The Centre’s letter only asked MPs to take permission. Here lies the State’s objection. The letter signed by Amit Shukla, Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry of Rural Development, is now at the center of attention.
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What else is in the letter? Several guidelines are given in this letter. One, a list of where and how many roads will be constructed under the Gram Sadak Yojana scheme in a particular financial year. Two, MPs have to get permission. MP’s advice should be given importance. Third, the State Label Standing Committee will check whether the suggestions of MPs are being followed. Four, MPs should be invited to the opening of the road. In this regard, Trinamool Congress MLA Tapas Roy told the media, ‘It is actually a strategy to control the elected government of the state. It is very dangerous for democracy. Equal role of center and state in the federal system of the country. This surveillance of the center over the states is contrary to the federal system