AGARTALA, December 28 (TIWN): Yet on another meeting with the the Centre and keeping safe the state govt.’s old trend to stress on Central’s Projects here in the state Tripura Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha urged the Union Finance Minister Jaitley to restore the allocation under MGNREGA as per approved labour budget.

Tripura Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha during a meeting with the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at New Delhi urged to restore the fund cut under the central sponsored MGNREGA Scheme for the benefit of the poor people of the state. Mr. Saha alleged that the central govt. has suddenly reduced the allocation drastically for the state of Tripura for the Financial Year (FY) 2014-15 inspite of good financial utilization and physical achievement, yet there is a target to provide 100days employment under central sponsored MGNREGA.

Later in regard of the Agartala Broad Gauge (BG) conversion work Saha urged the union minister to take up the work of broad gauge conversion up to Agartala at the earliest so that the people of Tripura will not suffer for long. It is to be mentioned here that the gauge conversion work is in progress from Lumding to Shilchar and Mega Block activity is being taken up for that track in the first phase.

Moving to a flash back, earlier this year Tripura Transport Minister slamming the North-East Frontier Railway (NFR) alleged that the authorities insulted the state and its people by denying the state government’s repeated requests to initiate a single-phase gauge conversion model. He said that the decision to withdraw four pairs of trains in the Agartala-Lumding route and introduce one pair of train between Agartala and Kumarghat in the meantime was a direct act of insult.

And on the issue of a sharp fund cut under the MGNREGA here in the state Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged to restore the curtailment of fund under the MGNREGA in the state for the benefit of the unemployed and uneducated rural people from among tribals, minorities, scheduled caste, other backward communities and women of the state.

He said that although Tripura under MGNREGA topped all states, providing 87 days of work per household in the 2013-14 fiscal against the national average of 45 person-days, the state's allocation had been sharply reduced.

It is to be mentioned here that the state Tripura had already been burdened with massive corruption on MGNREGA, where Manik Sarkar making it clear that any individual involved in corruption will not be spared by any means, said that the CBI probe on MGNREGA multi-crore scam is not necessary now as the state govt. has taken every legal steps against the culprits involved in corruption.