AGARTALA, Feb 13 - Tripura Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath today denied rumours of a financial crisis in the BJP-ruled State. Fund flow to the State for different Central Government schemes has increased during the past one year, accelerating development works, claimed Nath at a press conference here.
�In 2017-18, the State received Rs 8,433 crore from New Delhi for different schemes and this rose to Rs 10,294 crore during 2018-19. This proves that fund flow to the State has increased,� he maintained.
The minister said the State�s GST share has also increased in the past three years. �While the State earlier received Rs 129 crore from GST, the figure has gone up to Rs 155 crore and the GST award has also risen to Rs 171 crore,� he added.
�In 2017-18, the State received Rs 407 crore for MGNREGA, which has risen to Rs 444 crore. The MGNREGA outlay was Rs 767.59 crore during 2019-20,� he said.
Nath claimed that the State would receive more funds in the last part of the current fiscal year (February and March). �If one goes by the statistics, there is no financial crisis in the State, However, there is a constraint due to debt burden of Rs 13,000 crore left by the previous Government,� he said.
The Education Minister said an externally-aided scheme amounting to Rs 1,925 crore from the ADB is at a final stage. �The project may be cleared anytime,� he said, adding that the BJP-IPFT Government has sent as many as 13 externally aided schemes amounting to Rs 12,480 crore for approval.
Meanwhile, Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Pijush Kanti Biswas has demanded a white paper on the State�s fiscal position.