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HRD Ministry seeks cut in North-East budget

By Sushanta Talukdar

SHILLONG, FEB. 19. Even as the Governors and the Chief Ministers of all the northeastern States are meeting here tomorrow to discuss the drastic cut in funds for the North-Eastern Council (NEC), the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has moved the Finance Ministry to exclude it from the mandatory budgetary provision for the region.

Disclosing this here today, the Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, today told The Hindu that the HRD Ministry had written to the Finance Ministry with a copy to the Planning Commission to exclude it from the mandatory provision of ten per cent of its budget to the Non Lapsable Pool of Central Resoures (NLCPR).

Describing the HRD Ministry move as "very unfortunate," Mr. Gogoi said that his Government would lodge a strong protest with the Centre and oppose it. He said he was intimated about the HRD Ministry move by the State Chief Secretary, J.P. Rajkhowa.

The "New Initiatives for North Eastern Region" announced in 1996 had stipulated that at least ten per cent of the budget(s) of the Central Ministries/Department would be earmarked for the development of the northeastern States.

Tomorrow's NEC meeting has been convened after all the State Governments of the region objected to the Finance Ministry's decision to cut down the council's current year's budget by Rs. 104.71 crores.

The NEC had informed all the member-States that the ongoing development projects in the region would be adversely affected and the development projects scheduled to be taken up in the beginning of the Tenth Plan would be a non-starter.

The Tripura Chief Minister, Manik Sarkar, said: "On the one hand, the Centre is talking about the development of the region.

But on the other, they are drastically cutting down the NEC budget.

The cut should be withdrawn and the earmarked fund should be immediately restored."

Assam and Tripura would also press for the restructuring of the NEC by doing away with the present practice of appointing Governors as the chairman of the regional body.

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