SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has stressed on the need for 90:10 funding pattern for the smart city project. Addressing the 66th plenary meeting of NEC held at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi on Monday, Sangma said NEC can pass a resolution to take up the matter with the Centre for funding the project on 90:10 basis as worked out by NITI Aayog to enable cashstrapped states to participate in the Smart Cities Mission. However, the Ministry of Urban Development insists on 50:50 funding pattern, which is not acceptable to Meghalaya due to its limited resources, the chief minister said. According to Sangma, the concept of Smart Cities Mission is desirable and useful for urban renewal and setting up of new towns and cities as it embraces e-governance and citizen services, waste management, water management, energy management, urban mobility and others such as provision of tele-medicine facilities, incubation/trade facilitation centres, skill development centres as laid down in the Mission Statement and Guidelines, 2015, of the Ministry of Urban Development. He said NITI Aayog stipulates that for the core schemes, like the Urban Rejuvenation Mission (AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission), the funding pattern between the Centre and the States in respect of the North Eastern States and Himalayan States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir will be on 90:10 basis. Call for utilisation of NLCPR fund He also said though the ministries are required to utilise ) 10 per cent of their budget in schemes and programmes for the northeastern states, most of them are still unable to utilise the funds which have accumulated under NLCPR. “These funds are neither being placed adequately at the disposal of the Ministry of Development of North East Region nor the State Governments for the implementation of development projects,” said Sangma and urged the Council to place the accumulated amount lying with the Ministry of Finance with NEC to augment its resources to fulfil the original mandate of development in the region. Tourism prospects The chief minister said Meghalaya and other states of the North East can collectively become one of the most favoured tourist destinations due to the diversity of the region, vibrant culture, ways of life, picturesque landscape and youth with good command over English language, which are the inherent strength of the region. He stressed on the need for aggregating the potentiality of the North East to promote the region as an exclusive and high-end tourist destination. Football unifying factor Sangma said given the background of the region that is perceived as a conflict zone, it is imperative that people’s love for football and the unifying power of the game must be leveraged upon to further strengthen the unity and integrity of the country. He said one should take advantage of the pool of talents in sports, particularly football, by channelising the potentialities of the youth through promotion of sports and games.
