Dimapur, November 18 (MExN): Stating that the State’s finances are in doldrums and the law and order situation is in its nadir, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has pointed out that “governance has come to a standstill” and the NPF-led DAN government will fall from its own weight in a couple of month. This was stated in a press note issued by the NPCC.
Also in what will come as a concern for the people if it is true, the NPCC also claimed that the State exchequer was empty and there’s no way that the government will be able to pay the contractors. “The government is not even in a position to pay the salary of the government employees beyond November 2012”, the NPCC stated.
The NPCC made this disturbing claim while explaining about the State Works Program. The Opposition Congress alleged that the DAN government has prepared an ambitious works program for 2012-13 from the State plan allocation and yet, not a single work has successfully taken off. In fact the NPCC has cautioned the public from taking up any work under the State works program without verifying the actual position of fund for any project.
“The State exchequer is empty and there’s no way that the government will be able to pay the contractors. The government is not even in a position to pay the salary of the government employees beyond November 2012”, the NPCC stated.
Pointing out that the State’s deficit has shot up to anywhere between Rs.800 and Rs.1000 crores, the NPCC stated that this is the gift and legacy of Neiphiu Rio, the Chief Minister who also holds the finance portfolio to the people of Nagaland and the next popular government.
Despite the huge deficit, the individual wealth of the DAN legislators has been growing by leaps and bounds, the NPCC stated.
The Opposition Congress stated that the NPF-led DAN government has lost the confidence of the people of Nagaland State and that it can no longer be called a popular government. “It has become anti-people. In the larger interest of the people, the NPCC demands the Governor of Nagaland to act by applying relevant section of the constitution”.
Making further claims, the Opposition Congress stated that the State’s overdraft as on 03/08/2012 was Rs.54.66 crore. The NPCC alleged that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its advisory had clearly outlined the rules governing the Ways and Means Advance (WMA) to the State Government.
It stated that the RBI would suspend payments to the State Governments if the overdraft (i) continues for more than 14 consecutive working days or (ii) exceeds 100% of normal WMA limit for 5 consecutive working days on 2nd or subsequent occasion in the financial year or (iii) exceeds 36 days in a quarter, as per the scheme of WMA to State Governments for the year 2012-13.
The NPCC claimed that the DAN government had resorted to overdraft right after the financial year 2012-13. “It had cooled its heels in the months of May and June 2012 when the State had received the State Plan allocation from Planning Commission of India (PCI). Then, from July 2012 onwards the DAN government has continuously run into overdraft”.
On loans, the NPCC claimed the total amount of loan taken from various Financial Institutions (F.I) from 2008 to 31/08/2012 stands at Rs.654.63 crore. The major portion of this is from NABARD and HUDCO. It may be roughly estimated from the exorbitant interest rates that the government had shelled out anywhere between Rs.70 and Rs.100 crore as interest payment for the loans to the financial institutions, the NPCC stated. The whopping amount could have been spent for a mega project in a small State like Nagaland, the press note stated.
As for Civil Deposit, as on 01/04/2012, the total amount in CD (inclusive of CSS, State Plan & Non-Plan, Negotiated loan and NEC) was Rs.4671.66 crore. A meager amount of Rs. 438.71 crore only was released between 01/04/2012 and 15/09/2012, it stated. A total balance of Rs.4232.95 crore was still in CD. Release of funds on the basis of the progress work and as a measure for cash management were two reasons cited by the Govt. for keeping huge funds in CD accounts, the NPCC claimed.
“The reason that funds were released on the basis of the progress work was a lie because the government had made full release of funds against many CSS projects where the progress of works was not even 50%. It appears that the either the balance of Rs.4232.95 crore in CD account was only in paper or the DAN government was misusing the amount to tide over the financial crisis since April 2012 so as to avoid financial embargo from RBI”, the NPCC stated.
Regarding State’s matching share for MGNREGA, the Congress claimed that the DAN government has failed to pay the State’s 10% matching share in MGNREGA for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 that has reached a whopping 200% approximately. As such the Ministry of Rural Development has stalled further release of its central share, the NPCC has stated. The State government has been depriving the job card holders of their wages and developments have come to a grinding halt since the Ministry of RD has refused to release the 2nd installment for 2012, the NPCC further disclosed.
On the Industrial transport subsidy funds meant for the industrialists of Nagaland State, the NPCC has claimed that this has been swindled by one Mr. Khalid Hassan Mattar, a Jordanian national by conspiring with some State players. The DAN government has remained indifferent to the plights of the industrialists as its own men are party in the multi-crore scam, the NPCC claimed.
Stating that the Chief Minister had assured the August house during the last Assembly session that a High Powered Committee (HPC) would be constituted to re-verify the veracity of the claims, however this had not been done the NPCC claimed while adding that the department of industries is allegedly pressuring the District General Managers (DGM) to authenticate the fictitious verification report submitted earlier. The prospect of the genuine industrialists to get the fund is grim, the NPCC stated.
