SHILLONG, March 9: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday asserted that the state government’s overall expenditure is expected to see a jump of 58%.
Replying to the discussion on the Governor’s address, he said the government expenditure in 2017-18 was Rs 9,700 crore and the actual expenditure in 2021-22 is expected to be Rs 15,600 crore.
Taking an indirect dig at the previous government, Sangma said that in rural Meghalaya, a mere 4500 households had tap water in 2017-2018 compared to 21,2000 households today.
He also said that under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana, Meghalaya today has more than 1,850 km of rural roads constructed at an average of 2 km per day compared to 700 km of road in 2017.
Meghalaya is now implementing externally-aided projects worth Rs 7,900 crore compared to Rs 2,300 crore in 2017-18, he pointed out. “We have delivered and we are not giving mere speeches,” he said.
Boundary dispute
The CM slammed his predecessor, Mukul M Sangma for not taking any decision to resolve the vexed boundary dispute with Assam despite holding on to the post for eight years.
He said that sticking to a fixed position is a disaster for negotiation and that both Assam and Meghalaya are now very close to resolving the dispute in six locations taken up in the first phase.
Sixth Schedule amendment
On the proposed amendment to the Sixth Schedule, the CM said the state government has made it clear to the Centre that Meghalaya will not accept the word “unscheduled tribe”.
“We have given it in writing,” he said.
Relief for SSA teachers
The CM further said the government would provide some relief to the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan teachers before the end of the current financial year.
He told the House that there are different categories of teachers and there is no severe backlog of salary as the state government has been paying them.
“We admit there are issues for SSA teachers,” he said, adding the problem has cropped up because the state government does not receive the funds from the Centre on time.
He said other states have been facing a similar problem.
Withdrawal of consent to CBI
The CM downplayed the withdrawal of general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation, reiterating that most of the states were doing away with this procedure.
Terming it as normal procedure, he said the decision of the government did not come out of the blue. Eight-nine states in the country have decided not to allow the CBI to come in without the approval of the state government, he said.
Streetlights
The CM also informed the House that 3,000 streetlights will be changed in the state capital under the Smart Shillong City project.
He said smart LED bulbs will also be installed in the city and all these will be connected with the integrated control command centre.
On garbage management, he said the government will examine the idea of a scientific waste disposal system.
He said a South Korean company in Tura is trying to convert plastic waste into energy and he is optimistic that the idea will work.
He also told the House that the state government is going to set up four parking lots in Shillong for accommodating about 1,400 vehicles.