GUWAHATI, March 12 � AGP MLA Phani Bhushan Choudhury today urged the State government to constitute an all-party delegation tasked with convincing the Centre not to revoke the Special State status of Assam.
Participating in the general discussion on the Budget in the Legislative Assembly, Choudhury said, �The State government should take the lead in this regard. It should arrange for a multi-party delegation which can try to convince the Centre for retaining the Special State status.�
Speaking about the Budget, Choudhury said that many of the schemes mentioned in it are similar to ones which were part of previous Budgets. He said the government has over the years not been able to spend its Budget provisions.
�In the last 12 years, the amount left unspent is as large as the provision of three entire Budgets,� he said, adding that the rate of utilization of Plan allocation has fallen from 95 per cent in 2000-01 to around 69 per cent in 2012-13.
He said the 6 per cent GSDP growth cited in the Budget speech is not satisfactory and cited a study conducted by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, which had stated that Assam�s growth rate should be at least 11 per cent annually for it to catch up with other States by 2020.
He also said that the per capita income of people of Assam continues to be much less than the national average.
�There is talk about cut in allocation under Central schemes. In case that happens, the State government will have to run the schemes. Where will it secure the funds for such projects?� The Budget lacks any plan or vision to acquire resources,� he said.
Choudhury added, �The government will no doubt fulfill some of its Budget announcements, like distribution of threads and blankets and providing Rs 5,000 to 1,000 poor and marginal farmers in each Assembly constituency, but what about long-term planning to achieve economic development and create resources?�
He said the Budget document is silent on the status of projects announced earlier and that the reduction in allocation for water resources and higher education is not a wise decision.
BJP�s Dilip Moran said though the Budget talks of job creation, at least 11 State PSUs have closed down. �What about the thousands who were working in these PSUs. There is no mention in the Budget about their job security. There is no mention about plans to set up industries in the State,� he said, adding that in the last few years the State government took no action for increasing power generation capacity or for developing the industrial sector.
�Assam�s production of meat, fish, eggs and milk remains inadequate. The Budget does not mention any target for achieving self-sufficiency in these products,� Moran said.
AIUDF MLA Abdur Rahim Ajmal said that even as the State government talks about GSDP growth, rural poverty, lack of healthcare and sanitation, lack of housing and poor state of infrastructure continue to plague Assam.
�Growth should not be monetized� Many promises made in earlier Budgets have not been fulfilled and the same promises have been repeated this time as well,� he said.