Expressing concern over the change in funding pattern by the Central Government, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said the new funding pattern will affect a backward State like Assam dearly.
“The announcements in the Union Budget 2015-16 have given us reasons to believe that the Central assistance to Assam will get reduced substantially. There have been severe cuts in allocations in important sectors. A very crucial Flagship Programme, ICDS, for example, has witnessed a 50 per cent reduction in allocation at the national level, which will have an effect in allocations to the States, including Assam,” said Gogoi while interacting with the newsmen.
Gogoi said while the Central Government has de-linked some of the Centrally sponsored schemes, it has changed the funding pattern in many schemes from existing 90:10 to 50:50.
“The State has lost over `7,000 crore in the 2015-16 financial year as the number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) was brought down from 142 to 66,” he said. x