The Meghalaya Budget presented recently saw Education at No 8 in the priority list and Environment at No 12 the last in the list. This is indicative of the mind of the Government. It’s a populist budget where Agriculture has been given priority with the run of the mill cliches such as increase in acreage for organic farming etc., which ultimately never happens. The Chief Minister’s statements began with a laudatory note on how government expenditure more than doubled from Rs. 9,528 crore during 2017-18 to Rs. 20,729 crore in 2022-23. According to the Chief Minister, enhanced expenditure equals improved governance and implementation capability. This should be stated by an independent agency and not by the Government.
The second point made is that the cumulative funding from externally aided projects increased from Rs. 2,300 crore to over Rs. 10,600 crore from 2018 to 2023. Meghalaya, we are told, is implementing several projects in collaboration with agencies like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the New Development Bank and the International Fund for Agriculture Development. Here too the Government lauded itself and says that it is affirmation towards its commitment and execution capabilities from global institutions. The CM smugly announces that 90% of loans are repaid by the central Government which means the State can keep borrowing without any demonstrable projects on the ground.
The Chief Minister then pointed to programs like MGNREGS, PMGSY and Jal Jeevan Mission which he says are being implemented at an accelerated rate and have brought remarkable changes in the rural areas. The fact of the matter is that even in urban conglomerates people have to buy water and the quality of water supplied is questionable. There are claims much like Prime Minister Modi’s although on a much lower scale to make Meghalaya a 10 billion-dollar economy. This will be achieved through government expenditure and private investments by prioritizing trade, tourism, high-value agriculture and building a knowledge economy. There are claims about striving to double farmers’ income for the approximately 6 lakh rural households by focusing on horticulture, livestock, fisheries, and sericulture.
In Agriculture and Horticulture there is mention of pineapples and oranges and their increased production. But with inadequate processing facilities, pineapples with a short shelf life are becoming a burden for farmers. Strawberries which were introduced by some progressive officials are today not getting attention today and there is silence around this fruit although it fetches a decent income for farmers. Much is being trumpeted about the FOCUS scheme which intends to collectivise farmers and build farmers’ cooperatives. In fact, considering that much money was spent on FOCUS especially before the elections it is now time to assess the success or failure of the Scheme. The other cliché in the Budget is about connecting every household with uninterrupted electricity and functional tap water and every village with motorable roads and internet connectivity. This is in the realm of aspirations. The budget statement ends with the words, “This is a people’s government, and we will govern based on the values of collaboration, care and commitment. I dedicate this budget to the people, and I would like to term this budget the ‘People’s Budget.’ The question is whether people were even consulted while preparing the budget and if their priorities were taken into consideration. Undoubtedly this is an aspirational budget. It will take the people of Meghalaya and the Opposition Parties to work together to ensure that there is minimum leakage of public revenue.
