Seven demands passed after serious discussion
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, June 14 2013 : Chief Minister O Ibobi has appealed to all concerned to make known the 'matter' to the concerned departments in time before the same is brought up for discussion on the floor of the House.

Chief Minister O Ibobi made the appeal during discussion and passing of grant of seven demands in the State Assembly today.

He was responding remarks made by opposition MLAs on the floor of the House during the discussion.

The Chief Minister stated that there have been complaints from officials of various Government departments that since the State Assembly does not provide the relevant documents in time, they face a whole lot of problems.

So in order to prevent such problems, the matters which are to be discussed on the floor of the House should be made known to the concerned department days ahead of the Assembly session.

However, this does not necessarily mean that the employees of the Assembly Secretariat are not performing their duties.

It is just that they should be provided with the relevant matters in time, he added.

While acknowledging the observations made by the Opposition MLAs that even though Manipur has been declared as a dry State, yet liquors are easily available at every locality abundantly, the Chief Minister stressed on the need to discuss the pros and cons of removing the "Dry State" tag from Manipur along with various NGOs and CSOs of the State.

It is high time that a serious deliberation on the matter is done for good, he said.

The Chief Minister also informed the House that the suggestion given by the Opposition MLAs to upgrade the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) in tune with the changing time is indeed a wise suggestion.

The Directorate should provide the public with the latest information of the various schemes being taken up by the government for the welfare of the people.

While acknowledging the fact that the amount of revenue collected by Motor Vehicles Department from vehicle taxes is not in proportion to the number of vehicles plying on the roads, Chief Minister O Ibobi pointed out the need to check the prevailing condition and take up necessary measures in this regard.

He further informed the House that the Science and Technology Department is indeed functional and it would be wrong to describe the department as non-functional.

As far as Health sector is concerned there is the need for the Government and private sectors to go together hand in hand.

He also appealed to the Opposition MLAs to withdraw the cut motion and token cut motions moved by them and pass the seven demands unanimously.

Opposition MLAs Dr I Ibohalbi, Th Shyamkumar, P Brojen and Kh Joykishan also took part in the demand discussion and highlighted various errors prevalent in the seven departments.

Finally the House, after a serious deliberation, passed an amount of Rs 911,21,44,000; Rs 16,13,67,000; Rs 3,34,05,000; Rs 91,91,79,000; Rs 5,17,61,000 and Rs 9,97,53,000 respectively for Finance; State Excise; Sales Tax, others Taxes/Duties on Commodities and Services; Minor Irrigation; State Academy of Training and Science and Technology respectively.

Comment