SHILLONG: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has downplayed the financial crunch which the state is facing, but admitted there are challenges.
Speaking to media persons here on Friday, Sangma said that the state has witnessed a revenue jump of 17 per cent in the last one year and the government has now set a target of 30 per cent in the current fiscal.
Stating that challenges will come and go, the chief minister said past financial commitments were pending. “For me to say that I will be able to clear the backlog of 20 years within a year or two will be unfair to us and the people,” he said.
When asked about the approach to stabilise the financial situation, he said that the government would move in a balanced manner where the committed liabilities would be met and the development process won’t also suffer.
Elaborating on the financial challenges, the chief minister said that the past five-six years have been very tough for the state government and the state also had issues pertaining to the 14th Finance Commission to settle.
“Whether it is our state or any other state in the country, financial challenges are always there but from the current position of our state, there are committed liabilities and expenditure and we have been very clear that these will be paid,” he said.
He informed that there are no financial issues and will be none in running the day to day affair but added that there are bills pending since 2005 and to clear that immediately is a challenge while there are numerous other projects and initiatives already running in the state.
Stating that these were facts and he was not blaming the past government, Sangma said, “Facts cannot be ignored. It is our responsibility as government to carry it forward and we are doing that.”
