ADC Chairmen submit 'plan budget' to PMO
Source: The Sangai Express / Ninglun Hanghal

New Delhi, April 20 2016: A delegation of all the six ADC Chairmen from Manipur submitted a comprehensive plan budget to the Prime Minister's office yesterday in New Delhi.

According to the delegates ,the plan budget prepared under the 14th Finance Commission was submitted as desired by PM's office when the delegates had met the Central leaders earlier this year.

The first ever plan budget which is basically a development plan budget for the six district councils of Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati, Sadar Hills, Tamenglong and Ukhrul comes to a total of Rs 113.34 crore for a period of one year.

The delegates said that while there is no corresponding rules under the ADC Act of 2008, the District Councils have been functioning under the grant-in-aid fund until now.

District Map of Manipur

Further while the ADCs have neither development plan nor budget of their own, the new Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently removed the "special category" status for Northeast India.

Moreover, since Manipur does not come under any schedule, neither the 5th nor the 6th , the hill areas have been left out of the 14th Finance Commission.

During the 13th Finance Commission, the ADCs received an amount of Rs 142.91 crore for the six ADCs for the period 2010 � 2015 .

Chairmen of the six ADCs also mentioned that even as a budgetary plan was allocated by the State Government, it was unable to provide Rs 15.60 crore (earmarked for infrastructural development) while Rs 52.00 crore was allocated for salary of all the six district council teachers.

Only Rs 39.00 crore, of which Rs 28.34 was from 3rd State Finance Commission, was left for development works, the ADC delegates stated.

Even the continuity of the State Finance Awards couldn't be taken as a guarantee for the successive finan- cial years as the financial resource of the State is often limited and under strain.

Given that the District Councils are mostly rural areas and the work is confined to development, limited financial assistance from the State has caused grave hardships and hindrance, therefore the Central's assistance is required and is a must, reasoned the ADC delegates.

A copy of the said Plan budget will also be submitted to the Finance Ministry, DoNER, Tribal Ministry, Rural Development, Home and HRD Ministry and Niti Ayog.

Meeting and interaction with the Ministers concerned and Secretaries are also being sought and awaited.