Post Amphan, Bengal stares at mammoth loss

The Rs 1,000 crore aid pledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be the proverbial drop in the ocean for cyclone-ravaged Bengal, which lies like a prostate, disemboweled Gulliver after the devastating Amphan Cyclone left nearly 100 dead and thousands homeless.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee estimated that her state would need a whopping Rs 100,000 crore to rebuild its economy—enough to create eight highways—but did not say how she will garner the amount. She admitted her coffers were drying up following a Rs 1,000 crore expenditure for people impacted by the deadly coronavirus.

Banerjee told reporters that she wanted the team from the Centre, which will assess the extent of the damage, to visit the state quickly, else the damage and costs will multiply beyond control. “I hope they come soon,” said Banerjee.

Senior functionaries of Banerjee’s ruling Trinamool Congress said they fear the Central aid could be delayed because of bitter relations between the state and Centre’s ruling NDA government. At the same time, there are fears in Delhi that if not properly monitored, funds could be misutilised and misrepresented by the

TMC as its own cash for distribution to those affected to build the party’s image for the forthcoming polls in the state in 2021. There have been several instances of food grains sent by the Centre being repackaged as TMC relief to those affected by the deadly virus. At many places, TMC leaders were found hoarding Central relief for resale in local markets.

Fears of Central funds filling up the coffers of political parties are not totally unfounded in Bengal. In 2009, Banerjee, then Railway Minister, had asked the then PM Manmohan Singh not to provide Rs 1,000 crore to West Bengal for relief work after havoc wreaked by Cyclone

Aila. Banerjee had justified her decision by saying she feared that the Central assistance would be diverted to the cadres of the ruling CPM. In May, 2019, Banerjee had rejected Central aid for cyclone, even going to the extent of saying she did not recognise Narendra Modi as her PM.

Some of her supporters even took to social media to blame English newspapers and English television news channels for not putting Bengal in the top news. The criticism died after PM Modi made his visit and offered aid, and many of the critics were silenced after being told news gathering exercises were difficult in Bencongress