Kohima, 28 March (MTNews): Chief Minister and leader of the house, Neiphiu Rio in his concluding remarks on the discussion on the budget 2023-2024 thanked all the participants for raising constructive criticism, suggestions and pertinent issues of importance to the state and public. He appreciated the participants for having a meaningful and productive participation during the discussion on the budget.
On designation of Advisors, Rio said that the issue needs to be discussed and it is beyond the state’s purview since the court has already struck down the nomenclature ‘Parliamentary Secretary” in its adjudication when the downsizing came into effect. For a small state like Nagaland, the council of ministers is limited to the Chief Minister and other 11 ministers, he added.
On construction of the High Court building, he said that Rs 30 crores have been sanctioned during 2022-2023 on Special Assistance and 80-85% of the works has been completed and that it has been delayed partly due to the CBI case and partly due to the outbreak of COVID 19. Rio also mentioned that the funds have been provided solely by the state government unlike other NE states like Meghalaya and Tripura where central funds were provided for construction of High Courts. He also informed the members of the house that the constitutional amendment is required to have a separate High Court for which he had already appraised the matter to the Union Home Minister and Union Minister for Law & Justice on different occasions.
Rio informed that two multi-level parking in Kohima town funded by Smart City Development is soon to be completed and nearing its inauguration.
On government servants not attending offices and funds allotted being diverted to other activities, he assured that he will take these issues seriously and further informed that quarterly review will be on regular basis.
On GST, he said that deductions were made in advance in order to avoid defaulting by the contractors and suppliers.
He also briefed the house on the issue of exploration of Petroleum, Oil and Natural Gas while replying to a question raised by MLA Achumbemo. He also informed that border dispute should be amicably settled on the Disturbed Area Belt before exploration and extraction of oil is done, if not royalty tax has to be shared. He further said that the state will start exploration and extraction if only royalty tax from DAB is satisfactory and to the state’s benefit. He also emphasized on the need of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Government, where Art 371(A) shall be adequately protected.
He also mentioned that the state government has been working hard to do away with bogus appointments where appointments without sanctioned posts are not issued PIMS and so salary is being released without PIMS.
Rio also stated that Budget 2023-2024 has improved a lot to a large extent as compared to other previous years by bringing down the deficit of the state’s exchequer. He said a huge amount has been spent for releasing the backlog of previous years yet he hoped that the budget would improve in the coming years through monitoring and proper regulation. On LADP, he assured that the government will look into as and when the budget position improves.
On human and animal conflict and damage to properties and cultivation, he stated that a committee will be constituted to find out ways and means to handle the issue particularly where elephants roam freely in border areas.
On raising the upper age limit due to pandemic, he informed that this is a subject which needs thorough discussion and deliberation. On the educational sector vis-à-vis the shortfall of teachers particularly in eastern areas, he said that “Rationalization of Teachers” is required by the department in order to address the issue.
He said that the budget 2022-203 had a position balance in the current transaction with a sum of 150.30 cr only. He further stated that the number of employees drawing GPF amount is more than the number of employees depositing money into GPF account because of which a huge gap appeared in the total deficit.
(With DIPR inputs)
More on CM’s concluding remarks on Budget session discussion
Kohima, 28 March (MTNews): Chief Minister and leader of the house, Neiphiu Rio has said that the Department of School Education will undertake a rationalization exercise very soon to address the issue of teacher shortages.
He said there is no scope for appointment of teachers under the Lighthouse Project funded by the World Bank and undertaken by the School Education Department which is mainly for governance and management of school ecosystems. Stating that many of the schools have teacher shortages due to absenteeism, Rio said this issue will be addressed through the introduction of the Teacher Attendance Monitoring App during the current year.
On the enhancement of the Local Area Development Fund, Rio said when fund position improves the state government will give priority for enhancement of the amount depending on the resources available.
Taking note of the human-animal conflict as a concern, especially in Bhandari area, he said this has become a yearly affair and that precious lives were lost and crops damaged. To this, he said the government will set a committee to find a way out on how to handle this issue.
Rio informed the House that an amount of Rs 30 crore rupees has been provided under Special Assistance during 2022-23 to facilitate timely completion of the New High Court building. He also said, to make the main Athletic Stadium of the Multi-Disciplinary Sports Complex in Dimapur functional, a DPR of Rs 177 crore rupees was prepared, out of which Rs 20 crore has already been provided under Special Assistance during 2022-23. The Chief Minister further added that the state government will consider more allocation of funds to these projects in the coming days based on work progress.
On suggestions made to amend the re-designation of Advisor, he said the matter needs to be discussed and legal opinion is to be sought. Talking on resumption of the oil exploration, Rio said the State will take up the matter later for which an MOU is to be signed between the State and Central Government whereby the rights of the State under Article 371(A) are adequately protected.
The comments of the Central Government and the Learned Advocate General are awaited at present on this matter, he added. Leader of the house expressed hope that the matter would be resolved.
(With AIR inputs)
First Session of the 14th NLA concludes
Kohima, 28 March (MTNews): The first session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly concluded on Tuesday where the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio laid the Annual Administrative Reports 2022-2023 of the 23 Departments.
The departments included Finance, Chief Electoral Officer, Food & Civil Supplies, Land Resources, Social Welfare, New & Renewable Energy, Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Technical Education, Nagaland State Mineral Development Corporation Limited, Agriculture, Economics & Statistics, School Education, Law & Justice, Tribal Affairs, Legal Metrology & Consumer Protection, Industries & Commerce, Youth Resources & Sports, Home, Power, Electrical Inspectorate, Health & Family Welfare, Women Resource Development, and Horticulture.
The Chief Minister also laid the Economic Survey 2022-2023 of the Directorate of Economic and Statistics.
The Chief Minister also presented the Report of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India on Social, Economic, General and Revenue Sectors for the year ended 31st March 2020. (Report No-2 of the year 2022); State Finances Audit Report of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India for the year ended 31st March, 2022 (Report No-1 of the year 2023); Finance Accounts 2021-2022 (Vol-I& Vol-II); and Appropriation Accounts 2021-22.
Further, Rio moved to introduce the Nagaland Appropriation (No. 1) Bill, 2023 and the Nagaland Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023 and that the Bills are taken into consideration. The House agreed and both the Bills were passed.
Supplementary Demand for Grants for the year 2022- 2023 and Demand for Grants for the year 2023-2024 were also passed by the House.