The Mizoram opposition Congress accused the state annual budget of being ‘finance minister centric,’ and alleged Chief Minister and Finance Minister Zoramthanga of declaring him to be a ‘financial dictator’.
Lallianchhunga, the Congress media chairman and party spokesperson, said at a news conference on Saturday that the chief minister has apportioned more funds in the finance department than in other departments in the state annual budget he recently presented.
Moreover, he stated that dictator chief minister Zoramthanga, who also holds the finance portfolio, has set aside more than Rs. 1,312.49 crore for major projects under the finance department.
In addition, he said that of the total Rs 1,312.49 crore, Rs 962.49 crore is expected from the state and the remaining Rs 350 crore from Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
Moreover, the Congress leader also asserted that no funds are allocated for major projects to important departments such as planning, local administration, school education, agriculture, horticulture, rural development, transportation, and tourism, among others, for developmental works and the creation of public assets.
“The 2022-2023 budget is not a people’s budget but a finance minister-centric budget. The chief minister and the finance minister is making himself a financial dictator,” Lallianchhunga said.
Zoramthanga had presented the state’s annual budget for the financial year 2022-2023 on Thursday, with a total outlay of Rs 14,008.15 crore and a special focus on the state’s flagship programme, the Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP).
Meanwhile, the state flagship programme will be implemented with a budget of Rs 700 crore. And a total of Rs 350 crore has been set aside for family development programmes.
From the start of the new fiscal year, the Zoramthanga government intends to fully implement the flagship programme.
In addition, the chief minister set aside Rs. 1,312.49 crore for major projects in the finance department.
According to Lallianchhunga, the government failed to allocate sufficient funds under the Mizoram State Healthcare Scheme during the financial year 2021-2022, so a medical bill worth Rs. 40 crore is still pending release to beneficiaries.
According to him, the state government is likely to face the same crisis in the new fiscal year because it failed to allocate funds that were higher than in previous years.
In fiscal 2021-2022, the government set aside Rs. 3,785.48 crore for the state healthcare scheme, but only Rs. 3,615.66 crore for fiscal 2022-2023, with depreciation of Rs. 169.82 crore, he said.
He claimed that many retired employees indeed face serious problems in 2021-2022 as a result of the government’s failure to release pensions due to a lack of funds.
Moreover, since the MNF took power in December 2018, the state’s liabilities have increased to 58%, according to Lallianchhunga.
He claimed that due to financial mismanagement, the MNF government borrowed money from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on at least 101 occasions during its three-year rule.
However, a call to Chief Minister Zoramthanga was unsuccessful, and a top finance department official refused to comment on the matter.
For more Latest News Updates visit our website-
For Latest News updates about Arunachal Pradesh Visit-