STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: COVID-19 has dealt a body blow to the State economy, leaving the schemes announced in the 2020-21 annual Budget crippling. The ground situation remains that none of the departments has sent any proposal of schemes as the Finance department has asked them.
The current Budget of the State has some ambitious schemes like the Rs 1,000-crore 'SVAYEM' (Swami Vivekananda Assam Youth Empowerment); Rs 150-crore 'Arundhati Gold Scheme' under which the State government is supposed to pay Rs 40,000 for buying gold for every registered marriage, 'Assam Darshan Scheme', Rs 140-crore 'Yuba Arohan Scheme' for the introduction of entrepreneurship in the curriculum from Class-XI onwards, the scheme for the payment of Rs 550 to each family per month for buying medicines and fruits for old people etc.
The economic condition of the State can be gauged from State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's admission to the fact that regular grants and assistance from the Centre has been reduced; and to cap it all, the State's own revenue collection has also come down drastically. "In such a situation, it's very difficult to say anything about the fate of the budgetary schemes now," Sarma said.
The Rs 1-lakh core 2020-21 Budget of the State has 30 per cent from the State's own sources and 70 per cent from Central assistance. The revenue collection in the State continues to be dismal because of the pandemic. GST collection in the State was dropped by 80 per cent in April in the last fiscal. And the fall in GST collection continues in this fiscal as well – a fall of 40 per cent in May and 50 per cent in June. The State government has already incurred a revenue loss of Rs 500 crore in the tourism sector, so far.
Of course, there is no dearth of funds for floods and the Health sector. Some funds have also been received from the 14th Finance Commission.
Around four months of this fiscal have already elapsed; but the implementation of the schemes announced in the Budget has not been started as yet. The MLA LAD (Local Area Development) funds have also been put on hold, leaving the legislators high and dry in their constituencies at a time when the next Assembly election is barely eight months away.
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