A 25 per cent budget cut has plunged the North Eastern Council (NEC) into an unprecedented crisis with most of its ongoing projects, spread all over the region, getting badly affected. It is a shot in the arm for Congress as it will make the budget cut a major poll plank. The budget cut was to the tune of Rs 104.71 crores. A worried NEC has stopped releasing funds to every sector and asked its accounts department to prepare a consolidated bill of outstanding amount. “This is a very serious situation and we really do not know what prompted the Central Government (to go for)

the cut,’’ Assam Governor and NEC Chairman Lt Gen Singh has said. A visibly annoyed Assam Governor said the crisis was unprecedented. “The fact remains that we have allocated more funds than what has been budgeted now. Everything has been reworked,’’ he said. Each of the ongoing projects ranging from power to tourism would be affected. “There will be no new projects in the next financial year with this budget. Today even the regional institutions like North East Police Academy does not have fund for salaries,’’ Gen Singh said. Taking a dig at the Centre, the Governor said it had given sops round the country but denied the region its due. “This is unfair and worst is that we do not know for what reasons the fund has been reduced,” he lamented.

The Governor, however, did not see creation of the Department for Development for North Eastern Region as the reason behind the budget cut. “With the Council’s upgradation as a regional planning body, there was a corresponding need to authorise it to exercise more powers and responsibilities for regional development plan. Similarly, there was need for allocation of more funds for implementation of the regional development plan,” he pointed out. The NEC at the Shillong meet on February 20 discussed the plan allocation to NEC, specially in view of the changing requirement of funds, besides problems relating to budget cut and re-adjustment of ongoing projects and new ones to be taken up. The NEC, which has drawn a road map for the first time, is all set to get stumped by this sudden development despite the fact that it was set up for the development of infrastructure of the region directly by the Centre through the State Government. Regarding the Chief Ministers’ allegation that funds for the North Eastern Council (NEC) had been reduced over the years, Union Minister of State for Water Resources and BJP MP from Assam Bijoya Chakravarty asserted that total funds for development in the North East had not decreased.

“Rather the DONER funds have increased leaps and bound and it has taken over some areas from the NEC because of which the NEC size may get decreased. I am not sure about the whole scenario and hence I tried to contact Assam  Governor Lt Gen Ajay Singh, who is the current Chairman of the NEC,’’ she  aaid. She alleged that all the Congress Ministers and MLAs were hell bent on siphoning off Central funds allocated for rural development. She produced ‘’a number of evidences’’ when beneficiaries were duped of the Swajal Dhara scheme, Prime Minister Gramya Sadak Yojna and Indira Awas Yojna(IAY) fund. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Gegong Apang said Investment was needed not only for manufacturing the products, but also for a wide range of support activities like skill upgradation, credit links, and an incentive package for marketing the products, he added.

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