44 pc goes to salaries, 56 pc invested in development: CM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 03 2023: Chief Minister N Biren who is also in charge of Finance Department has stated that 44 per cent of the State's budget outlay is spent in paying salaries to employees while the remaining 56 per cent is invested in development works.

Responding to observations made by Members of the House while discussing the Manipur Appropriation (No 2) Bill 2023 in the State Assembly today, the Chief Minister claimed that the State has been marching speedily on the path of development.

The general assumption that all the resources of the State are spent in paying salaries and pensions is just a rumour, he said.

He informed the House that there is a Government provision for construction of residences cum offices at police stations.

The Government would look into the matter of renovating Sugnu police station either through Planning Department or other schemes, he said.

An amount of Rs 1.54 crore has been incorporated in the budget for construction of Kakching Khunou Municipal Council and the Government has been working to enforce the ban on single use plastics effectively, he continued.

The Chief Minister said that the Manipur Pollution Control Board (MPCB) would be authorised to take up stronger actions.

The argument that there is no substitute to single use plastics is no longer valid for a large number of entrepreneurs who specialise in manufacturing paper bags have emerged, he said.

Of the 45 villages of Kakching district, 16 villages are under the Directorate of Settlement while 29 villages are under the Deputy Commissioner.

Out of the 16 villages which are under the Directorate of Settlement, Loushipat, Kharungpat and Pumlenpat are being surveyed.

Survey is going on at the 13 other villages, he said.

As such, there is no land record of Pallel, Kakching, Kakching Khullen, Kakching Khullen Part II, Laijing, Kakching Wairi, Hiyanglam and Mayang Lamjao etc.

Land records would be maintained properly once the survey is completed, Biren said.

There is an instruction from the Government of India which says that NFSA rice should not be provided without collecting biometric data of beneficiaries.

But biometric data collection has not been completed yet.

As such, the rice allocation has been reduced by 50 per cent.

The other 50 per cent would be lifted from FCI godown soon, Biren said.

PMGKAY rice is distributed to beneficiaries after the agents lift the rice from FCI godowns and there is no room for interference by the Government, he said.

With the Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) now functional, all preparations have been completed for recruitment of 468 Assistant Professors, he continued.

The actual price of LPG is 90 per cent of the market price.

Tax constitutes 9 per cent while dealer's commission constitutes the remaining 1 per cent.

GST levied on domestic LPG is 5 per cent while it is 18 per cent on commercial refills.

Almost 60 per cent of the LPG consumed in India is imported from outside, Biren said.

He said that the price of LPG has been hiked in the international market.

From 454 dollars per tonne in 2020, it rose to 693 dollars in 2023, he continued.

An amount of Rs 7 crore has been granted by the 15th Finance Commission for solid waste management and it should be invested in areas covered by ADCs.

Of the 27 Municipal Councils, solid waste management works have begun in Thoubal and Kakching, he said.

A site would be identified soon at Pangei for construction of a rural market, Biren announced.

He said that stronger actions would be initiated to check cases of lifting vehicles.

The tasks of curbing smuggling of drugs and lifting of vehicles demands community level initiative, Biren said.

The Government has initiated necessary steps to revive indigenous Thang-Ta and Sagol Kangjei, he said.

Construction of a Mukna stadium has already begun at Senapati at the cost of around Rs 7.2 crore and the Government has set a target of completing the stadium before the next Sangai Festival, he continued.

For holding local body elections, Rs 10 crore (2022-23) and Rs 14 (2023-24) crore have been reflected in the budget.

Further, Rs 990 crore has been reflected in the State budget to meet the State's matching shares of Central sponsored schemes although there are some schemes which are sponsored 100 per cent by the Centre, he added.

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