GUWAHATI, April 20 � The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) has demanded direct funding by the Government of India to tide over the problem faced by it because of delay on the part of the Assam government in releasing funds. The newly formed Council has also assured that it will look into the aspirations of all sections of people living in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD).
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Khampa Borgoyari, who was sworn in as the deputy chief of the BTC yesterday, said the delay on the part of the Assam government in releasing funds to the Council seriously affected development of the area. He said Plan funds should be released to the BTC as per population pattern and as per that yardstick, the BTC should receive 12.19 per cent of the total Plan allocation of Assam. But over the years, allocation to the BTC never crossed the five per cent mark. He said that even the allotted amounts were never released by the State government in time and the Council used to receive the first instalment only in the month of July or August.
The BTC deputy chief said that the problem can be overcome only if the Centre starts funding the Council directly instead of routing the money through the State government. He said immediately after the swearing-in ceremony, they placed the demand before the State Governor, who assured them that he would look into the matter.
On the immediate priorities of the Council, Borgoyari said that restoration of permanent peace would be the first target and efforts would be made to look into the aspirations of all sections of people living in the BTAD. He admitted that after being elected to power for the third consecutive term, the responsibilities of the Bodoland People�s Front (BPF)-led Council have increased considerably. He said that the Council managed to expedite the pace of development in the area in the first term, but the performance was affected in the second term because of activities of some vested interest circles, while the law-and-order situation also affected development. Though maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the State government, very often the Council was blamed for the situation, he lamented.
Borgoyari said that the failure of the Assam government to deal with law and order not only affected overall development, but also affected tourism in the area. Serious efforts were made by the BTC to promote the Manas National Park as a major tourist destination, but the efforts did not yield the desired results because of the law-and-order situation, he said.
