SHILLONG, May 21 - The Meghalaya Government has spent Rs 115.10 crore till date to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the State, while the State�s revenue generation has substantially slumped.
Presenting the details in the ongoing Budget Session of the Meghalaya Assembly, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the major chunk of the amount was allotted to the State Health and Family Welfare Department.
Sangma was replying to a Zero Hour notice tabled by Congress MLA Process T Sawkmie. The Health and Family Welfare Department had been allotted Rs 57.08 crore to improve the healthcare-related facilities in the State during the pandemic, the Chief Minister said.
On the other hand, an amount of Rs 26.38 crore was to the Food and Civil Supplies Department for procurement and supply of 58,639 quintals of foodgrains under the open market sale scheme.
Apart from this, an amount of Rs 27.11 crore was provided as financial assistance to 1,81,491 people under the Chief Minister�s Relief Against Wage Loss Scheme. Each beneficiary was provided Rs 2,100 under the scheme, Sangma said.
The Chief Minister stated that an amount of Rs 2.77 crore was spent on providing a one-time special assistance of Rs 3,000 to 9,224 citizens, including students, who were stranded in various parts of the country due to the nationwide lockdown. An additional amount of Rs 2 crore was spent on providing rations and other support to 10,000 people who are under quarantine.
A total sum of Rs 69.25 crore has been spent from the State�s own resources for various relief measures. Combined with the amount of Rs 45.85 crore spent on health, the total expenditure incurred by the State due to COVID-19 comes to Rs 115.10 crore, Sangma informed the Assembly.
The Chief Minister said that the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have adversely affected the State�s economy. The total tax and non-tax revenue collection in April, 2019 was Rs 207.61 crore, while the revenue collection in April this year amounted to just Rs 76.40 crore, which is a fall of Rs 131.21 crore, Sangma pointed out.
Moreover, the Central Government�s grants have also been lesser than expected. �While the budgetary estimate for monthly tax devolution was Rs 428 crore, we received only Rs 352 crore in April, a shortfall of Rs 76 crore,� the Chief Minister added.
Sangma said that the State Government has taken a precautionary step by making partial deferment of salaries of State Government employees and government-aided institutions for the months of April and May.
�These are not salary cuts, but partial deferment of pay which will be made good in due course,� the Chief Minister said.
