GUWAHATI, June 17 � Making a strong pitch for retaining the 90:10 funding pattern for the State, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said the 2015-16 Central Budget had made it clear that the existing funding pattern had been withdrawn in most of the Centrally-sponsored schemes, including flagship projects such as MGNREGA and ICDS.
�It is a fact that the 90:10 funding pattern has been withdrawn from most of the schemes, including flagship projects. The 2015-16 Budget makes it evident. One or two projects might be continuing as earlier, but we need to have the 90:10 funding as a whole,� Gogoi said at a press conference.
Citing an example, Gogoi said that the allocation for the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) had been halved and the funding pattern too was changed to 50:50.
Vouching for maintenance of special category status for Assam, the Chief Minister said that it was necessary for doing away with regional imbalance.
On the 14th Finance Commission recommendations, Gogoi said the State had asked for 50 a per cent increase, but got a hike of 42 per cent.
�This, again, is not a favour, rather it is my right. FC allocations keep increasing and it is the norm,� he said.
The Chief Minister also came down hard on the BJP government at the Centre, saying that its handling of the Lalit Modi case involving Minister Sushma Swaraj left none in doubt that the BJP was a party which favoured and shielded the corrupt.
�Sushma Swaraj went out of her way to help an offender who is also wanted in connection with laundering of black money. By defending Swaraj�s act, the BJP has made it clear that it is a government by the corrupt that protects the corrupt,� he said.
