In a classic case of suppressing uncomfortable truth with the shrieks of victimhood, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Central government of halting funds for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), days after boycotting NITI Aayog meeting alleging discrimination against the state by Centre.
“We have built over 2 lakh kilometres of rural roads — you should know this. But why have you stopped the housing funds for Bengal for the past four years? Still, we managed to build 28 lakh houses — 16 lakh under one phase and 12 lakh under another…”
She further boasted having refused to implement the Ayushman Bharat Yojana so that the state government does not have to bear the 40 per cent expense of a scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kolkata, West Bengal: CM Mamata Banerjee says, "We have built over 2 lakh kilometers of rural roads — you should know this. But why have you stopped the housing funds for Bengal for the past four years? Still, we managed to build 28 lakh houses — 16 lakh under one phase and 12… pic.twitter.com/PuILpW5GKQ
— IANS (@ians_india) May 29, 2025
“Whatever you have done, may you remain ‘Ayushman’, may God bless you with a long life, even up to 175 years. But remember, we also have our own health support scheme that provides ₹5 lakh. I will not ask you for money for education or healthcare, because even in Ayushman Bharat, 40 percent of the funds are to be borne by the state. Why should I give 40 percent for your scheme?” CM Banerjee said.
Notably, PMAY is based on a 60:40 formula, with the Centre providing 60% of the funding.
Interestingly, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya boycotted the recently-held meeting of Niti Aayog “as a mark of protest against the deprivation of Bengal”.
Explaining the rationale behind skipping the crucial meeting, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh said, “the central government’s withholding of funds owed to Bengal”, adding that the dues had been kept pending for the past couple of years.
“The PM “speaks about working in unison but when it comes to Bengal, Centre does not provide the dues”, he added. Ghosh was speaking at a presser at Trinamool Bhavan. The CM had written “innumerable letters to the PM for the release of funds”, Ghosh said, adding that “it is time to release Bengal’s dues to the tune of over Rs 1.7 lakh crore. The TMC leaders have also alleged the BJP-led Central government deliberately neglect West Bengal.
Was Awas Yojana funds stopped by Centre due to disdain for West Bengal?
While the TMC government is painting a picture of victimhood, alleging discrimination by the Modi government for halting funds for the PMAY housing scheme, TMC conveniently sidestepped a critical detail. Contrary to the TMC government’s claims, the PMAY funds for West Bengal were frozen due to rampant corruption and mismanagement in West Bengal’s handling of this housing scheme. It seems like beyond political mudslinging, CM Banerjee pulled a calculated move to deflect accountability and stoke regional sentiments ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
It is essential to note that the Central government’s decision to withhold PMAY funds since 2021 stems from documented financial irregularities, misappropriation of resources and ineligible beneficiaries. This corruption was flagged in multiple audits and probes. The TMC government in West Bengal failed to meet transparency and implementation standards, thus, the Central government
Back in 2019, OpIndia reported West Bengal was among the states which provided land to just 1% of the targeted people until July 27 2018. West Bengal was the worst performing state as it had not provided land to a single person under the scheme.
In 2022, the Ministry of Rural Development conducted a state-wise survey concerning the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Scheme. This came after the Ministry found massive irregularities in the implementation of the scheme within the states. It was stated that the concerned states of Odisha, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh had flouted the rules of the PMAY scheme.
In November 2024, the Calcutta High Court said that contrary to the assertion made by the West Bengal government’s lawyer, there was deliberate misappropriation of in PMAY funds disbersal.
In a case from 2021, funds allocated to a few beneficiaries of PMAY were transferred to the bank accounts of a few other people in Canning in South 24-Parganas.
Justice Kapur, the court’s noted that fund allocated under the scheme had been embezzled. The police were directed by the judge to thoroughly investigate the anomalies.
The order was issued on the petition filed by one Sirajul Islam, a resident of Canning, and four others. In 2021, the residents of Canning Block 1’s Itakhola village sought funding through the PMAY. After a prolonged period of no funds being deposited into their accounts, these locals began to question local authorities regarding this. After getting no satisfactory response from the government, the affected persons moved High Court.
“The court primarily held that the money allotted to people under this scheme had been misappropriated deliberately and the issue needs thorough investigation,” Justice Kapur had noted and also dismissed state government’s argument that the funds were “erroneously” transferred to other accounts.
Instead of ensuring corruption-free implementation of the Central schemes, Mamata Bannerjee launched the state-funded Banglar Bari scheme, touting it as a triumph of self-reliance while shrewdly glossing over how why Centre-allocated funds dried up in the first place. The Central government discontinued its share of funding to the West Bengal government for this scheme only after renaming of scheme as Bangla Awas Yojana, sanction of houses to ineligible households, deletion of names of eligible households, and irregularities were reported. Before this, the Centre had allocated a target of 11.36 lakh houses from finalised lists in November 2022 for the state.
Protests had erupted earlier in Purulia, Birbhum, Paschim Medinipur, South 24 Parganas among other districts against outside the offices of Block Development Officers (BDO) alleging that their names as beneficiaries were excluded at the whims of local TMC leadership.
The TMC government’s assertion that the Central government is discriminating against West Bengal in releasing funds, finds its root in political theatrics of blaming others to dodge accountability while invoking self-reliance, regional pride and whatnot to rally public support. CM Banerjee that PM Modi deliberately halted PMAY funds to West Bengal, however, in reality, the state received Rs 41,888.33 crore — the third-highest allocation in the country, around 11 per cent of the total 3.71 lakh crore disbursed to the states under this scheme.
CM Mamata Banerjee should, thus, remember that those who live in a glasshouse should not throw stones at others. The TMC government goes conveniently silent on corruption and irregularities in implementation of Central schemes under its watch but harangues ‘deliberate deprivation’, ‘discrimination’ and whatnot when Centre halts funding to prevent further misappropriation of taxpayer’s money.
