Budget 2016-17 has nothing for Assam, Northeast: Gogoi

Guwahati, Feb 29 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday termed the union budget 2016-17 as a great disappointment as it has virtually nothing for the state and the northeast as a whole.

He said that the allocation to the northeast by Rs.4,000 crore has been minimal against the backdrop of flurry of promises made by central ministers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amounting to tens of thousands of crores.

"The frequent visits of central ministers, including prime minister, to Assam have been primarily aimed at covering the failure of the central government and it has indulged in show business and fake assurances. The Budget is a testimony to all this," he said.

Gogoi said he had raised a number of important issues in a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for inclusion during the formulation of the budget. "I had raised a number of important issues in a letter to Jaitley that included restoration of Special Category Status and NEIIP, special packages for flood and erosion, development of MSME sector, setting up of Brahmaputra Valley River Basin Authority, special packages for development councils, tea tribes and ex-tea tribes and protection of one-horned Rhino. But everything fell on deaf ears," Gogoi said.

He said that the budget has nothing for the flood and erosion problem of Assam, which has so far lost permanently 4.27 lakh hectares

Gogoi said that the budget has poured cold water on the high hopes and expectations of BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary by announcing only Rs.100 crore for BTC. "BPF had sought Rs 1,000 crore package from the centre," he added.