CM seeks central support for fiscal consolidation in Sikkim

NEW DELHI, 05 June, 2012 [IPR]: The Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling attended Meeting of NE Chief Ministers called by the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, today in Finance Ministry in the North Block to discuss financial situation of the NE states including Sikkim. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Dr. Monteksingh Ahluwalia, Members Planning Commission including BK Chaturvedi and all Chief Ministers of seven NE States and Finance Minister of Tripura.
At the outset, the Union Finance Minister welcomed the Chief Ministers to the interactive session. Highlighting the fiscal constraints that the Country itself was going through global recession, the Union Finance Minister said that a number of factors attributed to present slow growth. Addressing the meeting, he said among the challenges that the country faced today are: high fiscal deficit, widening current account deficit; slow export growth; low availability of institutional investment and foreign direct investment. The Union Finance Minister attributed certain global reasons behind this slow growth saying that the International financial crisis of 2008-09 and the euro crisis. The Union Minister further informed that the global crisis was being compounded by the euro crisis. Stating that the international economy impacted country’s growth, the Union Minister said that the country’s export accounting to over 32-33 % of our export to the European markets had been adversely affected.
The Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling, echoing almost all the NE chief Ministers’ concerns sought the cooperation of the Central Government to push the NE states on sustainable path of development. Highlighting the unique socio-geographical location of the State, the Chief Minister pointed that the Sikkimese people were saddled with added responsibility to ensure environmental security, water security and at the same time promote the Nation’s integrity and sovereignty as unpaid soldiers living on international borders. Sikkim joined the planning process much later than other states and hence all planning process of development, institutional interventions and delivery mechanism were introduced and begun only in 1975. Referring to the difficulty to access central funding under certain CSS including JNNURM etc. the Chief Minister sought the intervention of Finance Ministry to facilitate easy and untied transfer of funds for a more need-based relevant schemes under state roads, schools, power etc
The Chief Minister Nagaland had similarly opined that the economy of his state has a salary economy with deficiency development and the government being the sole employer. The CM Assam had also drawn the attention to the narrow resource base of the state. The Arunachal Pradesh explained the burden of salaries on the state government. The CM of Mizoram also reverberated on the same line. The Finance Minister, Tripura too lamented that projects announced by the Central Government in 1997-98 for Tripura were yet to take off.
While summing up the meeting, the Union Finance Minister said that all should work collectively and proposed to institutionalise similar meeting with the Chief Minister every six months for periodical review. Responding to the demand of Sikkim’s Chief Minister on keeping the interest rate constant at 6.5 % in respect of Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), the Union Finance Minister assured the Chief Minister that the Finance Ministry would try to work out appropriate modalities to fully benefit the States in the NE region and assured of Special Package in consultation with Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission and the Prime Minister for the whole of NE States. Acknowledging that the NE is located in the far flung hilly areas, the Union Minister sought to allay fear and said that the NE region is very much in our hearts.
The Chief Minister was accompanied to the meeting by the Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, RS Basnet, Principal RC cum PCCF cum Secretary Forest, Arvind Kumar and Finance Secretary, KN Bhutia.