State’s spending surged in last four years: CM

SHILLONG, Sep 15: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday told the House that the expenditure incurred by his government in the last four years has been the highest ever. Replying to a short-duration discussion on price rise, moved by TMC’s George B Lyngdoh, Sangma said between 2018 and 2022, the average expenditure by the state government was Rs 14,500 crore as compared to Rs 8,800 crore in the 2014-18 period, an increase of almost 70-80 per cent. This reflects the amount of money that flows into the economy and benefits the public, he said. The CM attributed the cause to global, national and local factors, in addition to climatic, farming pattern, logistic and other reasons. The government has been intervening wherever possible, but certain factors such as the Ukraine war have led to price rise of fuel, he said, adding that the price of petrol and diesel reached a record high during March and May this year, leading to an increase in transportation costs. He said the temporary increase in the prices of crops especially cabbage and tomato in April this year was due to a shortage in supply as Meghalaya and its neighbouring states were badly hit by floods. On the rise in the price of beef and other meat products, the CM said the inflation is due to different factors, primarily because of the policies in other states. Sangma pointed out that the unemployment rate in Meghalaya was 1.8%, one of the lowest in the country.