Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is planning a hard bargain for her support to the Goods and Services Tax Bill, party insiders said.
According to sources in the Trinamool Congress the Chief Minister is likely to press the Centre for a complete or partial waiver of the Rs1.86 lakh crore debt left by the previous left Front Government in its three-decade rule.
Even if a complete waiver is not possible (as other States may also make similar demands) Banerjee may ask for a moratorium in payment of interests that have gone up in the vicinity of Rs45,000 crores, a senior party leader said, adding the Chief Minister would do everything to reduce the financial burden and continue with her populist enterprises.
In fact the Chief Minister has already written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a debt waiver, sources said adding only if her concerns are addressed by New Delhi she will play a role in the Rajya Sabha to make a “safe passage” for the GST Bill.
A host of populist yet taxing-to-exchequer measures — like Rs2-a-kg rice, 25 lakh free cycles to girl students, Rs25,000 to girls attaining adulthood liberal grants to thousands of clubs throughout the State apart from constructing almost-block-and-district level colleges, universities, polytechnics, ITIs and “mutli-superspeciality” hospitals — have forced the Trinamool Government to borrow excessively in the past five years.
As against previous borrowings of Rs1.86 lakh crore made by the earlier Governments in 61 years between 1950 and 2011 the Mamata Banerjee Government has borrowed Rs1.11 lakh crores in the past five years or so.
As investments have dried up over the past few years allegedly on account her persistent “no-land acquisition” policy and rampant complaints of extraction from investors by the local Trinamool satraps — who in any case double up as the indispensible vote managers during polls — the Chief Minister is looking for a hefty financial package too from the Centre, sources said.
For this she is even ready to make compromise on her stated policy on the Teesta River water sharing issue with Bangladesh, sources said.
According to sources the Chief Minister had recently dropped hints of making concessions on Teesta water when a Bangladesh dignitary visited Bengal during her second swearing-in ceremony.
This apart the Chief Minister is also not happy with the Centre’s decision on reducing supply of kerosene oil to Bengal. “Considering the fact that we have a large tribal population that thrives on kerosene oil the Chief Minister will ask the Centre to reconsider its decision.”
Besides according to unconfirmed reports the Trinamool Government may lobby with New Delhi to get the Ramasar (world heritage) site tag removed from the east Kolkata wetland area. A Ramasar site tag hinders the State Government to extend Kolkata eastwards.
The eastern side of Kolkata till Sunderbans is flanked by large areas of wet lands thousands of years old. The environmentalists feel that these lakes play a crucial role in keeping Kolkata cooler than other metros during the sweltering summers.