Mamata Banerjee on Thursday sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to release Rs 50,000 crore, which the state was yet to receive under various heads from the Centre.

The crux of the letter is that non-availability of funds is hurting development projects in Bengal.

“I write to you with deep concern regarding the steady reduction of central funds to our state and also inordinate delay in release of funds due to us from government of India. You will appreciate that this extraordinary situation is leading to great hardship and creating major difficulties in meeting our obligations for the welfare of the common people of West Bengal,” the letter by the chief minister reads.

Mamata told Modi that despite non-receipt of funds from the Centre, the state had repaid Rs 3 lakh crore that the erstwhile Left Front government had borrowed.

The chief minister made it clear in her letter that the state was yet to receive Rs 11,212 crore under the head of devolution of central taxes in the 2019-20 financial year, while it was yet to get Rs 36,000 crore under the head of central grants. She also pointed out that Bengal had not yet been provided with Rs 2,406.79 crore under the head of GST compensation.

Mamata first raised the issue publicly on February 10 after state finance minister Amit Mitra had tabled the budget for the 2020-21 fiscal.

“By sending the letter, the chief minister made it clear that her claim was right. The letter would put the BJP government at the Centre in an awkward situation as it has been facing problems in shoring up revenues because of economic slowdown,” said a senior government official.

Sources said in the case of devolution of central taxes, the state was likely to get few more installments in March and the total dues would come down to some extent. In the case of devolution of central taxes, the states usually get three installments in March. “It appears the Centre would not be able to clear the remaining amount under the head because of the slowdown,” said the official.

“But it is expected that the state’s dues could come down significantly as it is likely to get a couple of installments in the last month of the current financial year.

A section of officials said if the chief minister mentioned the details of the due central grants, it would have left the Modi government under pressure.

Trinamul insiders said Mamata had met Modi at Raj Bhavan in January during the latter’s visit to Calcutta.

“The chief minister sent a letter reminding the Prime Minister about the state’s dues as no funds flowed from Delhi after the Raj Bhavan meeting,” said a minister.

A Trinamul leader, however, said the letter was also a political move to put the BJP in an uncomfortable situation ahead of civic polls. “The chief minister wants to let the people know that if development projects have come to a halt in some areas, it is because of the Centre,” said a Trinamul MLA.