Guwahati: Assam government on Tuesday said it is reviewing all the schemes launched by the previous dispensation of Tarun Gogoi and will discontinue those not conforming with BJP’s ‘vision document’.
Replying to a query by Congress MLA Ajanta Neog during the Question Hour, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “We are reviewing all the schemes with different departments like Finance, Planning and Revenue. “We are ascertaining if the schemes are aligned with our vision document published before the election. If these are aligned, they we will continue with them or else we will stop them. “The government will clear all the pending dues to all stakeholders of a scheme if it is discontinued in the future, he said during the ongoing Budget Session. “We will work in a way so that funds are not misused at all,” said Sarma, who is also the Planning and Development Minister.
The minister also said the state government is working towards phasing out both Plan and non-Plan heads gradually. “Plan and non-Plan are two very confusing heads. The Centre has already decided to do away with these two heads and we also support it. Gradually, we will shift to only Capital and Revenue expenditure funds instead of Plan and non-Plan funds,” he added.
Sarma further said the Planning and Development department will be merged with Finance and the next fiscal’s Budget will reflect this. Talking about expenditure, he said: “If we spend from Revenue, then it is worrying. But if we can manage our spending from Capital expenditure, then it is good for us.”
To Neog’s query on Special Category Status state, Sarma said, “Assam continues to enjoy this tag even after the NDA government came to power at the Centre. During the last two years, the Centre has released Rs 58,016.42 crore to the state since 2014-15 financial year,” he informed the House. (PTI)
