GUWAHATI, June 12 � The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today alleged that the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP)-led Central Government has been holding up release of the funds due to Assam to meet the situations created by floods and other natural calamities. Last year, the Central Government had released an amount of Rs 288 crore, against the State Government�s plea for an amount of Rs 2534.15 crore.
The Central Government is also turning a deaf ear to the State Government�s plea for release of an amount of Rs 6,700 crore for repair of the dykes along the rivers, alleged the APCC.
The APCC said that due to the drastic cut in Central funds meant for several sectors, the State is facing serious problems in continuing with the Centrally-sponsored schemes, particularly in the education sector. The Central Government has curtailed Rs 10186.75 crore in primary education sector, Rs 1422.50 crore in secondary education sector and Rs 1479.34 crore in higher education sector during the 2015-16 financial year.
Such cuts in the allocations will affect implementation of the Sarba Shiksha Abhiyan and the payment of salaries of the TET teachers will also be affected due to such cuts, said the APCC.
It also alleged that the Union Ministers visiting the State at present have been taking recourse to false assertions on the allocations made and the amounts released to Assam. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has also made a misleading statement by stating that the Union Government has been releasing double funds to Assam compared the reign of the UPA Government.
But, in fact Assam is getting Rs 7,000 crore less from the Central Government compared to the previous years� allocations, alleged the APCC.
It has also ridiculed Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for his �ignorance� about the procedure for release of Central funds to the states.
In a statement here, the APCC has stated that if a state Government fails to submit the utility certificates of the Central funds for any preceding year, the flow of Central funds to it would surely be halted. The utilisation certificates etc. should be submitted to the Union Government within the same financial year for which the Central funds are meant, it said.
Sonowal had alleged that the Congress-ruled Government in the State had not submitted utilisation certificates etc. for 14 years at a stretch and hence it is facing problems in getting Central funds.
