The Assam Assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution urging the Government of India to continue the ‘special category state’ status for Assam and to ensure that the pattern of funding of central assistance to the state is either 100 per cent central share or on the principle of 90 per cent central share and 10 per cent state share.
The state government while moving the resolution on the floor of the House informed the members that existing funding principle of 90:10 for special category state was not followed by the Centre in respect of five centrally funded schemes and the state share for these schemes had been increased to more than 10 per cent.
The parliamentary Affairs Minister Rockybul Hussain informed the House that these five schemes and the funding pattern were: Command Areas Development (50:50), Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (70: 30), Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashastrikaran Yojana (75: 25), National Mission on Agriculture Extension and Technology (75: 25) and Assistance to State for Infrastructure Development for Exports (80: 20).
“The state expresses deep concern at the above departure from the entitled Special Category status and requests the Central Government to ensure that the pattern of funding shall be either 100 per cent central share or on the principle of 90:10,” the official statement read out by Mr.Hussain on the floor of the House stated.
While the Asom Gana Parishad, All India United Democratic Front and the Bodoland People’s Front supported the resolution moved by the State government, the Bharatiya Janata Party while supporting continuance of the special category status to Assam insisted on inserting a line in the resolution that the State Government shall ensure proper utilisation fund received from the Centre.
However, the Speaker Pranab Kumar Gogoi gave a ruling that the issue of fund utilisation need not be clubbed with the resolution on continuance of the special category status and could be addressed separately. The House then passed the resolution by a voice vote.
