The state government is believed to have raised the issue of the state’s dues amounting to Rs 1,76,000 cr with the Centre allegedly owing to the Centre’s alleged discrimination by putting a freeze on release of funds for various central schemes.

The issue was raised with the members of the 16th finance commission, who held a meeting with the chief minister and other opposition party leaders at Nabanna today.

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Later, at a press conference, the commission chairman Arvind Panagariya said that the state government, during its meeting with the chief minister Mamata Banerjee, had demanded a rise in the percentage of its vertical devolution to the state to at least 50 per cent from the present 41 per cent.

At the meeting held at the state secretariat today, as sources put it, the chief minister raised the alleged discrimination by the Centre towards the state.

The chief minister is believed to have told that the state had tried to impress upon the delegation by saying that the social security schemes that state has implemented by far was the best as no other state had implemented such schemes but yet the Centre was not releasing the funds.

Asked to comment on the state government’s allegation of Centres’ discrimination, Mr Panagariya told new persons that the finance commission had no such mandate to decide on alleged discrimination of funds from the Centre.