New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Friday said that Arunachal Pradesh has undergone a transformation not witnessed in decades due to the commitments of the double-engine government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pema Khandu.
Addressing the pre-Union Budget 2023-24 meeting here chaired by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Mein said the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Arunachal has almost doubled from Rs 20,000 crore in the year 2015-16 to Rs 38,000 crore in 2022.
He also informed that Arunachal’s share of capital expenditure to total expenditure has averaged over 30 percent in the last 3 years which is the highest in the country.
Mein extended his thankfulness to the union government for launching the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) and PM-DevINE (PM’s Development Initiate for NE) in the Union Budget this year.
He also thanked Sitharaman for enhancing Arunachal’s borrowing limit for obtaining negotiated loans of up to Rs 657 crore, which he said will greatly help the state government in providing timely funds for important on-going and new projects.
Further thanking the Centre for making provisions for mandatory expenditure of 10% Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) by non-exempted ministries in North Eastern states, he suggested giving flexibility to the states to design customized projects in that particular sector and seek funding from the balance of 10% GBS.
Mein also sought enhancement of allocations under the schemes of the North East Council (NEC), Department of North-East Region (DoNER) and Border Area Development Programme (BADP).
The deputy chief minister further requested Sitharaman to provide special grants under the ‘Golden Jubilee Model School Programme’ on an annual basis to upgrade and strengthen the health and education infrastructure of the state.
The pre-budget meeting was also attended by Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.
Mein was accompanied by state principal secretary (finance) Dr Sharat Chauhan and Planning & Investment commissioner Prashant Lokhande in the meeting.
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