Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has stated that Meghalaya’s growth story has been powered not by borrowings but by the increase in the state resources.
In response to the general discussion on the budget on Monday, Sangma said that the national average in terms of borrowings versus total receipts is 19 per cent.
“We are well below that number at 12 per cent,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that it is a “misconception” that Meghalaya’s growth story is being driven by loans and that the people of the state will have to repay the debt.
He stated that the size of the state’s budget has grown three times since 2017-18. In the fiscal year 2017-18 the state’s budget was Rs. 9, 858 crore which has grown to 27, 072 crore in 2024-25.
The Chief Minister said that the state is on path to achieve Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Rs. 85, 787 crores of USD 10 Billion by financial year 2028. He pointed out that from financial years 2014 to 2018 the state had an economic growth of roughly 6.5 per cent in the GSDP and from 2019 to 2023-24 it was 10.5 per cent.
The Chief Minister said that from the financial year 2022 to 2026, the projected growth is crossing 13.5 per cent. “That is the growth rate that is going to take us to the Rs. 85,000 crore economy,” Sangma told the House.
He said that the revenue expenditure in the 2018-26 has grown by 10.4 per cent, whereas the capital expenditure during the same period has grown by 23.8 per cent.
“This is clear indication that there is a huge amount that is being put into capital expenditure,” he stated.
Sangma further said that the share of central taxes is not the state’s money but is a share that the central government gives, which is a constitutional provision and mandated for the centre to devolve to the other states and Meghalaya.
On the issue of delay of scholarship to the students, Sangma clarified that the state was not stopping it but funds were not coming from the centre.
The Chief Minister said that this has been pursued with the central government and pushing the Finance Ministry to release these funds on time.
He told the House that he is hopeful the next academic year the state should be able to figure out some way to streamline it.
Sangma said that the amount for payment of scholarship comes to around Rs. 160 crores a year even as he said that if the centre delays it the state can organise the funds.
“The issue is once we give to the students and after that government of India sanctions, it goes straight into the students account which means they will get from us in advance and they will get from the centre too,” the Chief Minister added.
Stating that the state government is in a catch-22 situation where it is not able to pay in advance even if desired.
