By IANS,
Shillong : Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma Tuesday sought augmentation of central funds for infrastructure development, social sector and governance reforms in the state.
Sangma’s request for more central funds for cash-strapped Meghalaya came during a meeting of chief ministers from northeastern states chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi.
“I have impressed upon the central government for generous consideration for augmenting the central releases so that the state can meet the revenue expenditure gap and invest more funds towards infrastructure development, social sector and governance reforms,” Sangma told IANS on phone.
He said the investment strategy would enable the state in additional employment generation and improving the service delivery system.
Moreover, there was a conducive atmosphere for rapid development as people of the state were keen on maintaining peace, he said.
Hence, there was an urgent need for aggressive investments, he added.
He also stressed upon the need for reviewing interest rates on RIDF (Rural Infrastructure Development Fund) loans which were raised from 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent from April 1.
Sagma urged the finance ministry to consider resetting of interest rates on NSSF (National Small Savings Fund) loans from the commencement date of the 13th Finance Commission recommendations instead of the date of notification of the Meghalaya FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) (Amendment) Act, 2011.
Sangma said Meghalaya had been able to bring down the debt-GSDP (gross state domestic product) ratio as well as the fiscal deficit by adopting prudent fiscal measures.
However, he said the percentage ratio of salaries against the net revenue expenditure could not be maintained to the level of 35 percent considering the fact that the various posts have to be created and filled up with a view to improving the overall governance in the state and avoid stagnation of employment avenues.