New Delhi: Now if any state changes the name and guidelines of the centrally sponsored schemes, the funds will be stopped for the said state. It has been reported that the central government is going to take such a strict step. The central government has warned the states to refrain from branding the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Pradhan mantri garib kalyan anna yojana, Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Yojana under their own name.
The central government has planned to tighten its approach in this direction. It is likely to make it mandatory for states to follow the guidelines of all centrally sponsored schemes. The central government is going to take such a step after getting information from a large number of MPs regarding changes in name and ‘logo’ of centrally sponsored schemes by the states.
It is worth noting that there has been a long-standing dispute between the Center and the state regarding the Prime Minister’s Residence Scheme in Odisha. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana houses were asked to install with the PMAY logo.
Not only in Odisha, but also in states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab and Rajasthan, there are allegations of violation of guidelines for centrally sponsored schemes. There were serious complaints that the West Bengal government changed the name of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural) to ‘Bangla Awas Yojana’ and the Andhra Pradesh government changed the name of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana ‘Health and Wellness Center’ to ‘Mohalla Clinic’. In most non-BJP-ruled states, there have been allegations of renaming of centrally sponsored schemes. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while replying to the budget discussion, mentioned how the name and logo of the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Scheme has been changed in West Bengal.