By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 27: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, in his reply to the budget on Tuesday, tried to dispel the fears that the state is being burdened with debts due to loans taken for externally aided and other projects.
Justifying his desire to make Meghalaya a $10 billion economy, he said the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2014-15 to 2018-19 was 6.8% while that from 2022-23 to 2024-25 is expected to be 11.4%.
“The government is spending a lot more than before. The revenue and capital expenditure during 2022-23 was Rs 21,390 crore compared to Rs 7,954 crore during 2015-16,” he said, adding that the total expenditure would be around Rs 27,072 crore during 2024-25.
Sangma said huge funds are being given to different departments such as Education, which will receive Rs 3,539 crore in 2024-25 compared to Rs 2,045 crore in 2018-19.
He said sectors such as roads and bridges, health, planning, and power have also seen 800-900% jump in fund allocation.
Allaying fears about the source of funds, he said Rs 9,371 crore comes as grants from the Centre while Rs 4,041 crore is generated from the state’s taxes.
“Meghalaya is benefitting from a stronger Indian economy and a higher share of central taxes. Meghalaya’s share has been increased from 0.642 to 0.765% from the 14th to the 15th Finance Commission,” he said.
Sangma said the share of central taxes has doubled from Rs 4,212 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 9,466 crore for 2024-25.
“In the case of externally-aided projects (EAPs), 72% of the fund is provided as grant to the northeastern states,” he pointed out.
Meghalaya is implementing 11 EAPs at a total cost of Rs 7,233 crore. Seven of these worth Rs 3,978 crore are at the design stage, he said while adding that the EAP expenditure has increased from Rs 499 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 1,699 crore in 2024-25.
He added that improved implementation of the central sector schemes has led to increased allocations from the Centre.
Defending the high fiscal deficit in some years, he said Meghalaya’s per capita income increased from Rs 82,653 in 2018-19 to Rs 1,12,737 in 2022-23. “There was an absolute increase of 36% in four years despite the COVID pandemic,” he said.
On the employment front, the chief minister said 2.35 lakh job opportunities have been created since 2021. The government’s goal is to create 5.55 lakh such opportunities by 2028.
He said Rs 465 crore has been invested in tourism projects during the last three years. The targeted expenditure for the next four years is Rs 4,000 crore toward creating 48,500 job opportunities by 2028.
“In the information technology sector, the government intends to create 30,000 direct and indirect jobs,” he said.
Stating that a huge number of schools are being upgraded under Mission Education, Sangma said the government is currently undertaking a phased upgradation of infrastructure in all the 2,044 government schools under Mission Education at Rs 326 crore.
On the health sector, he said the total expenditure on the health sector increased from Rs 980 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,970 crore in 2024-25 while the total number of sub-centres conducting deliveries doubled from Rs 132 in 2018-19 to almost Rs 270 in 2023-24.
Pointing out that Meghalaya saw a reduction in maternal mortality by 50% and infant mortality by 30%, the chief minister said 87% of infants have been brought under the routine immunization target.