SHILLONG, APR 13: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday informed that the state government is paying Rs 5,373 crore annually as salary to its 56,766 employees and 29,705 pensioners excluding the deficit teachers.
Replying to the budget discussion in the Assembly here, Sangma said the amount was after the implementation of the pay revision to the government employees as per the fifth pay commission recommendations.
On the preparation for the National Games to be held in the state in 2022, the chief minister said that the state government will have to raise funds and that necessary help will be extended by the Centre.
“It is a tedious and heavy exercise as there is need for a different budgetary allocation just for National Games. I assure you that we are working on this,” he said while admitting that budget allocated to the sports department is not sufficient.
Informing that the National Games Organizing Committee have been formed and is on the job (for the preparation), Sangma said the sports department has been asked to come up as to what would be productive way to invest on sports associations.
“We want to ensure that the state also win some medals in the National Games,” he said while welcoming the suggestion for having playing fields in all the districts, to which the government proposed to do in phase manner but depending on the availability of funds.
Expressing keen interest to promote cave tourism in the state, the chief minister said it is an area which the government would like to push forward especially with the Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons also showing interest on the matter.
He said for the conveniene of the tourists visiting the state, the government has discussed the need to construct not only basic amenities like toilets but also a resting place adding that the Centre is also interested in funding this project.
With regards to the drug menace in the state, he said that the government will do its best to address this problem which is affecting not only Meghalaya but the North East region as a whole.
He said at present there are two rehabilitation centres being funded by the Centre government which include Kripa Foundation and New Hope in Shillong.
Apart from the one-stop crisis centres at Shillong and Tura, Sangma said that the government would also examine the proposal for setting up of shelter homes.
Moreover, he said all government offices and hospitals will also be made friendly to persons with disabilities (PwDs) even as he informed that the Secretary of the Social Welfare Ministry, who visited the state two weeks back, had agreed to have a programme in Shillong in the month of June-July for distribution of aids and appliances to 2000-3000 PwDs in the state.
On the proposal for use solar street lights, he said the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), an energy service company (ESCO) of the Government of India has proposed to replace current light bulb with LED bulb. “Once the LED light is used, the electricity consumption will be reduced to half,” he said
By Our Reporter
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