AGARTALA, Sept 29 - Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who returned from Delhi after meeting Union Ministers, said he has sought Rs 1.5 lakh crore during the 15th Finance Commission�s five-year tenure starting from April 1, 2020.
�I met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi and briefed her about the state�s fragile fiscal position. I requested her that Tripura needs Rs 1.5 lakh crore from the 15th Finance Commission to meet the non-plan expenditure for the next five years. She has agreed to do the needful,� the Chief Minister told reporters at the MBB Airport on his arrival from Delhi on Saturday.
During the meeting, Tripura�s debt burden amounting to Rs 13,000 crore came up for discussion. �I informed Sitharaman that the previous government had left a huge debt burden on the new government. The erstwhile government left behind ongoing work valued at Rs 1,700 crore incomplete apart from the debt burden. Now, we require money to complete these works. I have sought Rs 1,100 crore from the Union Finance Minister to finished all the incomplete works and she has agreed to look into the demands,� Deb said.
Deb said he had a meeting with HRD Minister Dr Ramesh P Nishank and informed him about the stalemate in releasing of fund against the Samagra Siksha Abhiyan. �The Minister has instructed the officials to release Rs 89 crore to the state as early as possible,� he said.
Deb said Nishank told officials to establish two Kendriya Vidyalayas at Dharmanagar and Udaipur and one Navodaya Vidyalaya at Pecharthal. The Minister also agreed to set up a Regional Institute of Education in Tripura.
On the meeting with DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh, Deb said the Union Minister instructed officials to release Rs 130 crore for setting up a 400 KV power sub-station at Suryamaninagar though the state had demanded Rs 171 crore for this purpose.
