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Grants to naamghars can wait, spend in priority areas: citizens to Govt

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 4 - Twenty-seven conscious citizens, including scientists and doctors of the State, have written to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urging him to spend the scarce resources of Assam in a prudent manner, in priority areas like COVID-19 management instead of extending grants to naamghars and religious institutions.

At a time when the State is facing a highly stressed fiscal situation on the one hand and COVID-19-induced crisis on the other, the government should lay emphasis on using the money in hand to improve COVID-19 treatment, research and testing etc. Cash assistance to religious places can wait till the fiscal health of Assam improves, feel the citizens, who have also given a copy of their letter to Health, Education and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The appeal has been signed by popular science author Dr Dinesh Chandra Goswami, noted doctor Anil Choudhury, science activist Tapan Sarma having a four-decade association with people�s science movement, senior technocrat Najib Ahmed, forensic scientist Rabin Dutta and former director of OKD Institute of Social Change and Development Dr Indranee Dutta among others.

On August 29 the State government had announced that the BJP-led government would provide Rs 2.5 lakh each to 8,000 naamghars across the State under the Assam Darshan scheme by October this year. Similarly, more than 350 religious institutions of the State would get Rs 10 lakh each.

With every passing day, number of COVID-19-affected patients is increasing in the State. Needless to say, the government health facilities in Assam are overstressed and more beds, equipment, ICUs, manpower and other COVID-related infrastructure are the need of the hour, the said. The government itself has stated that henceforth, the COVID patients would have to pay for some services. It was also stated that with increasing load, the government won�t be able to provide all facilities for free due to limited resources. �In such a situation, we see no logic in giving financial grant to the religious institutions,� the appeal read.

Also referring to the Assam Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill-2020 which was passed in the Assam Assembly on Wednesday, the signatories said that through the Bill, the government made arrangements for borrowing upto Rs 6,000 crore, which again underscores the need of a pragmatic approach in spending from the coffers.

The signatories said that naamghars and religious institutions are built and maintained through by community collaboration. Since ages, people have been coming forward willingly to donate for such institutions. Even during testing times like the lockdown, people have managed to run those institutions on their own without government assistance. As such, the State government, the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister should spend the government money on COVID management in the State instead of dolling out sops for cheap publicity, the signatories further said.

Others who have signed the petition include Dr Nilima Dutta Choudhury, Dr Tridip Goswami, Dr Pulakjyoti Bhuyan, Alakananda Sengupta, Nirmal Chandra Gogoi, Bhabesh Chandra Bhagawati, Dr Pinaki Sengupta, Dr Ramen Hazarika, Dr Sarat Das, Kulesh Sarma, Shahnawaz Ali Ahmed, Mridul Saikia, Rana Mukut Keut, Putul Sarma, Bhupendra Nath Sarma, Manoranjan Sarma, Gitika Goswami, Son Kumar Talukdar, Mrinal Barman and Usha Devi.

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