Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has dubbed the Assam budget 2018-19 “another sprinkler of promises” saying the BJP-led government in the state failed to implement the ones they made in the past two budgets.
“This government made several impressive promises in the past two years but the condition of people has not improved. People are angry over non-implementation of their schemes,”Gogoi told reporters outside the Assam Assembly on Monday.
He said when the MLAs go to the departments, they are told that there are no funds but the finance minister claims there is no dearth of funds.
“It is easy to make promise after promise but what about their implementation,” Gogoi said.
Rejecting Gogoi’s charge, finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said only a few schemes were announced during 15 years of Congress rule between 2001 and 2016.
“They remained confined to distribution of free blankets and yarns and failed to implement most of their promises. This year, we have kept our promises by having a chapter clearly stating the status of implementation of the schemes announced in last year’s budget.”
Sarma termed the budget the best state budget as it had introduced pensions for all senior citizens, a new cancer hospital, offered interest-free loans to farmers and funds to buy sanitary pads for girls, beside others.
Opposition AIUDF legislator Aminul Islam said the budget was devoid of any scientific solution to the state’s burning problems like erosion and unemployment.
“Except that is it an e-budget, I don’t see anything specific to address the erosion problem despite the fact that 4,000 villages have been eroded in the state,” Islam said.