'No diversion of funds from hill areas'
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIPR

Imphal, September 05 2021: The Finance Department has strongly refuted a statement circulated on the social media alleging diversion of funds from the hill areas.

Terming the statement as misleading and aimed at creating a divide between the hill and valley areas of the state, the Finance Department clarified in a statement that the state government had placed a realistic figure on 'developmental' expenditure break-up in the recently concluded Assembly session subsequent to the Unstayed Question No 138 raised by the MIA Alfred K Arthur.

The state government has placed a clear cut picture on the 'developmental' expenditure break-up based on budget figures.

It indicates that the expenditure of hill and valley during the financial year 2017-18 was Rs 1544 crore and Rs 3287 crore respectively.

In the financial year 2018-19, the expenditure for hills was Rs 1490 crore and that of valley Rs 3526 crore.

In 2019-20, the expenditure for the hills was Rs 1654 crore and for valley, it was Rs 3221 crore.

During the financial year 2020-21, a sum of Rs 2670 crore was spent for the hill areas and Rs 4381 crore was spent for the valley districts.

It also stated that the state government had placed in the Assembly that the expenditure of some departments is mainly valley-based such as Secretariat, MAHUD, Panchayati Raj, etc.

The government had also placed that the figures reflected in the budget under 'Hill' allocation is lower than the actual.

This is mainly due to centrally sponsored schemes, where due to the requirement of Public Financial Management System of Government of India, the funds have to be en-cashed by the Headquarter DDO (in Imphal) before disbursal to the implementing agencies in the hill districts.

It further clarified that in order to give a clear picture of the actual fund flow to the hill areas; the state government is preparing a detailed paper which will be shared with the public by the end of September, 2021.This paper will give a clear picture on the actual fund spent by the state government for the development of the hill areas of the state and will be an evidence of the efforts made by this present government on bringing real development to the hills, the statement added.

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