Ajanta Neog cautions departments

Only performers will get funds

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, March 26: State Planning and Development minister Ajanta Neog informed the Assembly on Thursday that those departments which  perform well and utilize plan funds properly, will be given more funds under plan heads. On the other hand, those departments performing poorly will face fund cuts. She was replying to a question raised by AGP MLA Phanibhusan Chowdhury in the House.

Neog said that the Planning and Development department will closely monitor the utilization of funds by the departments from next fiscal.

Raising the issue before the passing of the Assam Appropriation (No. II) Bill, 2015, Chowdhury said, “In 2013, the then planning and development minister wrote a letter to all the departments as per the Chief Minister’s instruction, fixing the percentage of plan fund to be spent by a department in each of the four quarters in a fincial year. But the departments did not follow that instruction of the Planning and Development department. A huge amount of plan funds are now lying unspent. So funds should be provided to departments on the basis of their performance and fund utilization record.”

Agreeing with the AGP MLA’s view, the Planning and Development minister said, “We will start closely monitoring plan fund utilization by departments from the fincial year 2015–16 and the Chief Minister has also emphasized upon the plan fund utilization issue.”

After the discussion on the issue, the Assam Appropriation (No. II) Bill, 2015 for the withdrawal of Rs 66142,16,77,000 from and out of the Consolidated Fund of the State of Assam for the fincial year 2015–16, was passed and with the passing of the bill, the 2015–16 State budget was also filly passed in the Assembly.

Later talking to reporters outside the Assembly, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said, “The 2015–16 State dudget has filly been passed in the Assembly today. In this budget, we have put thrust mainly on employment generation and providing social security to sections of people like farmers, artisans, land erosion–hit families, small traders and others. I will also see that the announced schemes in the budget be implemented at the earliest,” adding, “To discourage people from tobacco and liquor consumption, taxes on these items have been hiked in the budget.”

But Gogoi made it clear that he is still in the dark on how much funds the State will get under the plan head.