GUWAHATI, April 24 ? All major socio-economic indicators including per capita GDP mortality rate, per capita consumption of electricity etc point towards the widening gap between Assam and the rest of the country. According to the figures given in the Development profile of Assam?, published by the State Government recently, the per capita GDP of Assam at constant prices (1993-94) is Rs 6,733 against the national average of Rs 11,632 and the gap is increasing since the beginning of the 9th Five year Plan. There has been a substantial increase of the population living below the poverty line, which reached 40.86 per cent against the national overage of 35.97 per cent. The per-capita consumption of electricity in Assam as per 1998-99 figures was only 123 kwh as against the national average of 360 kwh. The number of unemployed persons is increasing alarmingly, thus providing a recruitment ground for insurgent outfits, the State Government report said.
The report said that connectivity and communication remains to be one of the main handicaps for Assam. The road length per 100 sq km area in Assam is only 87.2 km as against 374.9 km in Kerala. The railway network compared to the population is one of the lowest in the country, while, the tele density is shockingly low at 1.34 telephones against national average of 2.8 per 100 persons. Similarly, industrial development in Assam has been very low and the two main industries of Assam, tea and oil are facing crisis for reasons beyond the control of the State. Keeping the present scenario in mind, the State Government has formulated a strategy for development and identified five sectors as thrust areas. These are - agriculture and allied services, infrastructure including power, road network and communication, human resource development, services including IT, tourism and health care, and industrial development with emphasis on information technology, trade and commerce, handloom and handicrafts, agro industry and forest based industries, the report added.
Giving a dismal picture of the financial position of the State, the report said that last year, the Reserve Bank of India suspended payments by the State Treasuries for 175 days due to huge overdraft. The financial position also seriously affected the development process. Out of the total expenditure of the State, 61 per cent was spent or salary and pension, 19 per cent on debt services, seven per cent on miscellaneous expenditures and only 13 per cent is left for development work. The eleventh finance commission also delivered a serious blow to Assam by awarding the lowest ever amount to bridge the revenue gap, the report said.
The State Government report gave an account of the steps initiated to tide over the crisis and to improve the financial health of the State. The report referred to the suggestions offered by the fiscal reforms committee and said that the State Government has already finalised a fiscal reforms package. The major points of the fiscal reforms package finalised by the State Government include ? exhancement of revenue through efficient collection, expenditure control by prudent fiscal management, restructuring and disinvestment of the State PSUs, maintenance of non-plan non-salary revenue expenditure at 1998-99 actual, ban on taking over of new private institutions in education and other areas rationalisation of manpower in Government through the abolition of non-essential vacant posts, tax reforms, power sector reforms including the constitution of Electricity Regulatory Commission, introduction of VRS in the leading PSUs etc. The package has been submitted to the Government of India for consideration for negotiation of fiscal measures to overcome the current acute crisis, the report added.