Kohima, March 30 (MExN): The final day of the 15th session of the twelfth Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) was held today with discussions conducted on the Budget for the year 2016-2017.
Remarking on the Budget 2017-2018 as unique and realistic, Parliamentary Secretary, Hukavi Zhimomi said the budget has covered all subject matters of finance, while also suggesting that efforts must be made to reach out to the people regarding problems in the budget of the state.
“We are running a collective government. It confuses the people if they don’t know how much we are receiving and spending,” stated Zhimomi. He also lamented that people often ask for money as if “the GoI is pouring down unlimited money.”
Zhimomi also requested the House to allot funds and give more priority to the departments which are not covered by CSS and dependent on the mercy of State government budget.
“We have multiple needs of the people and with the paucity of funds it is difficult to go ahead. We have to take some austerity measures to improve our budget,” stated Zhimomi, while also appealing the people to understand the position of the government.
“I am surprised that the people are not having ‘eco-friendly’ to the government,” he added.
Citing the ULB imbroglio, Zhimomi stated that people have developed a negative attitude towards the government “as if the government does not belong to them.”
“I am afraid if our society does not have eco-friendly with its government we are going to be in deep crisis and dark future. They should know the government belongs to the people and it is a people’s government,” the legislator said. MLA Mhonlumo Kikon meanwhile provided a comparison of the previous year’s budget with this year’s budget. He viewed this year’s budget as “very realistic and practical,” and stated that in the past 15 years, there has been stabilization of financial condition of the State. He however conceded that this year’s deficit is the highest amount ever faced by the State. To come to this level within a year, there must be a problem in the way of execution, he said. Regarding Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), the MLA said that the State has not been able to access “50 percent of the funds.”
“We have to make available the reasons why an amount of Rs 464 crore (deficit) has been accrued in just one year. That is the critical point we have been missing in the House as well as outside the House. It is critical not only to understand the health of the budget but also in order to evolve new strategies to tackle these financial problems we must understand what the problem is,” he added, while also pointing out excess appointments in Nagaland as a huge burden on the state finance.
He meanwhile questioned the failure of the State to come up with proactive solutions despite being aware of the anomalies, and suggested judicious use of human resources and online payment systems for more transparency. “Given the financial deficit, I want to know whether we can have a white paper on budget deficit,” he asked, affirming that the House needs to make realistic reasons for the accumulation of the Rs 464 Crore deficit.
On the ULB issue, the MLA found encouragement in the CM’s comment, and remarked that the government needs to admit that it is amenable to mistakes. “Let us admit that we make mistakes as human beings. When consultations come, we must approach it with the mind to address the issue…We must be willing to discuss uncomfortable issues and address it,” he advised.
“Unless we are able to listen to the differences of opinions, to accept that there are differences we will not be able to address the issues which are sometimes complex,” he concluded.
