Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio flags ‘proliferation of factions’
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio flags ‘proliferation of factions’
Neiphiu Rio on Friday said that the “proliferation of factions” is a matter of grave concern and the issue will be brought to the notice of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
KOHIMA — Chief
Minister Neiphiu Rio on Friday said that the “proliferation of factions” is a
matter of grave concern and the issue will be brought to the notice of the
Ministry of Home Affairs.
Rio said this while presenting his concluding remark to the
general discussion on the budget he had presented the day before.
With regard to the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority,
he said that the third draft of the memorandum of settlement to FNTA was shared
with the state government for comments. The state government has approved and
forwarded its comment to MHA in November 2024. Discussions on the comments of
the state government are being held between the representatives of the ENPO,
state government and MHA, he informed.
On the issue of inadequate funds for road sector, he said
that funds provided are insufficient “but the allocation is being distributed
as far as possible, as per existing length in each division.”
Also, Rio said that Mission for Integrated development of
Horticulture (MIDH) department of Horticulture has identified 32 horticulture
model villages for growing exotic fruits and commercial crops that can be grown
according to climatic conditions and soil feasibility, like kiwi, dragon fruit,
avocado, persimmon, etc.
Regarding Naga coffee, the state has expanded the plantation
area and has successfully increased the export from 18 MT outside the country
(between 2020 and 2023), and 48 MT were traded in 2024. As for marketing
linkages, he said the government is implementing an externally funded project,
“ELEMENTS”, to ensure agricultural development in intervention villages with
necessary marketing linkages for sustainable agricultural development in
Nagaland villages.
He also mentioned that the delay in execution of CSS
projects has been flagged, and the state has already initiated the Nagaland
e-Proposal System for streamlining submission of proposals, timely release of
funds and execution, as mentioned in the budget.
Discussions were held on the issue of an increase in LADP
for rural areas. He acknowledged that Vamuzo, former chief minister, had
initiated it. The Indian Parliament has also adopted the same, he said.
With regard to the issue of CMHIS, he said that the disputed
cases are being examined by the State Medical Committee for CHMIS and PMJAY,
and this will be placed before the Nagaland Medical Council.
Towards the improved GST collection, he said that the
government is establishing RFID reading posts to ensure all commercial vehicles
transporting goods are complying with the GST regime and the GST is collected.
The Taxes Department is also establishing a research and
analysis wing to properly analyse tax data, detect evasion patterns and
optimise revenue collection, he informed.
The accumulated deficit of the state stood at INR 1630.67
crore during the budget 2018-19. Though there were variations during COVID
years, with an increase to INR 2679 crore in FY 2021-22. The state has been
consistently bringing down the deficit over the past few years, bringing down
the value to INR 843.21 cr, which is a considerable achievement. As mentioned
in the FY 2024-25, the state has been able to reduce the accumulated deficit by
INR 62.57 cr, he added.
The state’s total Own Tax Revenue increased from INR 846.43
crore during FY 2018-19 to INR 1790 crore in FY 2024-25.
“It is my firm belief that the budget of 2025-26 with its
new initiatives and increased allocations to the departments will lead to the
economic transformation of the state,” Rio said.
He further urged all members to guide and support the
government and the departments to proactively implement schemes for the benefit
of the people of the state.
