Giving a befitting reply to the Opposition Congress in Assam, State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday told the Assam legislative Assembly that there is no change in the Centre’s funding pattern for most of the Centrally-sponsored schemes in Assam.
The erstwhile Congress Government in Assam had often said that the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre had cut the fund flow to the State not only by removing the ‘special category State’ status from Assam but also changing the existing 90:10 funding pattern against the Centrally-sponsored schemes.
Sarma, while replying to the Opposition during a discussion on continuation of ‘special category State’ status to Assam, said out of the 112 Centrally-sponsored schemes in Assam, 48 are getting 100 per cent funding from the Centre while 58 of them are in 90:10 funding pattern.
“There are three Centrally-sponsored schemes, which are getting 80:20 funding pattern followed by one scheme having 70:30 funding pattern and two schemes having 50:50 funding pattern,” Sarma told the House.
Congress legislators and former Ministers Ajanta Neog and Rockybul Hussain raised in the House the issue of continuation of ‘special category State’ status in Assam and whether the Centrally-sponsored schemes are getting 90:10 funding pattern, which the state used to get earlier under ‘special category State’ status.
Giving the details, Sarma said that the 14th Finance Commission recommended that there should not be any ‘special’ or ‘non special’ category of the State and that funding pattern for the Centrally sponsored schemes to all states should be 50:50. “I would like to remind you that it is former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had instituted the 14th FC. The BJP Government — when it came to power at the Centre in 2014 — only inherited the 14th FC and accepted its recommendations,” said Sarma while attacking the Opposition on Monday.
“However, there were lots of protests over this by different States and the Central Government instituted a Committee to review the recommendations. The Committee headed by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, had members from most of the Chief Ministers of Congress ruled States. The Committee reviewed the recommendations and said that the eight northeastern states and Himalayan States has to be given special treatment and that these States will continue to get 90:10 funding pattern for Centrally-sponsored schemes,” he said.
“I would like to mention here that the then Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki (Congress) and Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh (Congress) were the members of the committee from northeast. They have never raised any issue but here in Assam the Congress Government had made an issue out of this,” said Sarma while adding that this has misled many people in Assam.
Sarma, who is likely to table the State Budget for 2016-17 in the House on Tuesday, further said that the State Government is getting best possible co-operation from the Centre and that the new Government in Assam — despite the fact that it inherited over `14,000 crore liability from the past Government —is bound to deliver the change to the people.
“It is only two months that we have taken over and we are rebuilding the economy. I appeal to all of you to give us time till March 31, 2017 and we are going to deliver the change,” he added.