Itanagar, March 15 (PTI): The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly has passed the 2018-19 budget by voice votes.
The budget was presented in the house on March 12 by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein who also hold the finance portfolio.
Participating in the budget discussion, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said “it should be the collective approach for all members including other stakeholders to convert resources in capitals in order to generate revenue to end dependence on the Centre.”
Responding to various queries of the members, the chief minister said that the state government had already sanctioned Rs 7.7 crore for procurement of TV sets for all the ‘gaon burhas’ who were left out from the scheme earlier.
He called upon the members to suggest the state government with innovative schemes to be placed during the proposed meeting with the officials of the 15th Finance Commission to be held here from April 6 to 8 this year.
Participating in the discussion, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein held the budget as “inclusive” with focus on seven key sectors.
Stating that the state government has formulated the state industrial policy to woo private investment in the state, he said a bill to regularise land ownership had already been tabled in the Assembly for discussion.
Former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki while appreciating the budget said that there was no budgetary provision for regeneration of forest cover in the state for which his government earlier could manage higher grants from the 14th Finance Commission.
Tuki, the lone Congress MLA in the 60-member house, further requested the government to grant fund for infrastructure development in notified non-urban towns of the state.
He said that no central fund should be sanctioned unless urban local bodies (ULBs) in all notified urban towns were constituted. He also urged the government for fund provision to pay stipends to students from class one to eight.
Leader of Opposition Takam Parion (Peoples Party of Arunachal) said that because of many lacunae in sanctioning process, huge liabilities for the government had been accumulated since several years and the government should seriously ponder on it.
Pario also demanded the government to make public the amount of liabilities accumulated during 2016-17 and 2017-18 financial years.
He further suggested the government to provide incentives of Rs 10,000 each to all unemployed educated youths of the state per month till they got suitable employment. Art and Culture Minister Dr Mohesh Chai quoting a UNESCO report of February 19 this year said that 26 dialects including Nah and Mra in the state out of total 200 in the were on the verge of extinction.
Education Minister Honchun Ngandam said that the state government had constituted a state regulatory commission to regulate private universities in the state. Later the house passed the budget by voice votes yesterday.
