GUWAHATI, Jan 1 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that the Government would look to increase State�s income in the current year and the expenses would be cut down as and where required.
�State�s income will have to be increased so that new welfare schemes could be launched. We will have to plan our income and expenses account in a more effective manner and a mechanism has to be devised,� Gogoi said, adding that about 20 per cent cut in the total expenses has been suggested.
He said that the Government was hoping for a better growth in the year 2013.
On the challenges, he said, �the problem of erosion has grown alarmingly this year too. Already 4 lakh hectares of land has been eroded and the number of displaced people increasing. A concerted effort is what we are committed to initiate.�
Reclamation of land from river Brahmaputra is also in our agenda although it may take some time.
Recalling the year 2012, the Chief Minister termed the BTAD violence as an unfortunate incident. While conceding that problem of flood could not be tackled, he however, opined that in spite of all these, the overall growth of the State was steady.
The Chief Minister went on to state that the thrust this year would also be to uplift the poor and develop the backward areas.
�Improving rural economy by promoting small and medium industry and facilitating effective market linkage would be a key job,� he said.
Gogoi also recognized the growth witnessed in the agriculture sector, beside Health and Education.
He was in the favour of doing away with the �bandh and holiday culture� in the State.