NEW DELHI, April 9 — The high-pitch rhetoric that Centre has neglected Assam has not moved the Union Government as it has drawn the conclusion that the State has not been able to make rapid progress in implementation.
The reason for Centre’s analysis is the State has been given adequate funds but it has not been able to utilize it. For instance, Minister of State of State for Statistics and programme Implementation, S B Mookherjee pointed out that Assam could spend only Rs 7,091.03 crore out of then allocation of Rs 8,140.28 crore during five annual plans of the Ninth Five Year Plan period.
Projects amounting Rs 574.70 crore have been sanctioned under the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources. Besides this, funds are also provided under various Central and Centrally sponsored schemes, North Eastern Council and project specific one-time additional Central assistance, he asserted in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
The only silver lining was that the Human Development Index (HDI) for Assam has increased to 0.348 in 1991 from 0.272 in 1981 and according to estimates it has grown to 0.386 for 2001.
The Minister, however, said it was too early state if the HDI for the State had increased because of implementation of the Prime Minister’s Special Economic Package for the Region.
Among the North Eastern States Mizoram has recorded the highest HDI of 0.548 followed closely by Manipur (0.536). Arunachal Pradesh has recorded the lowest HDI of 0.328 and follows Assam closely.