The current financial crisis has been largely attributed to the dip in revenue deficit grants after devolution, share of taxes and the Centre’s diktat to disburse all funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), officials said.
Mizoram was in the spotlight on more than four occasions in 2013 under the former Congress government.
The northeastern state has recorded an increase in COVID-19 cases for about a month and the state’s tally reached 2,32,225 on Thursday as 145 more people tested positive for the infection in the last 24 hours.
The African Swine Fever (ASF) epidemic continues to ravage the state, killing more than 42,600 pigs and piglets since March last year. The small state is also currently housing more than 30,000 refugees from Myanmar.
Due to the disbursement of funds worth about Rs 600 crore under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) from the state finance department to the concerned departments recently, the state treasury, though not officially closed, has stopped disbursing funds, a senior treasury official said. say
He said that the Aizawl South Treasury, which disbursed the maximum amount on normal days, has stopped payments from Monday and the Aizawl North Treasury from July 21.
He said salary payments to government employees could be delayed due to financial constraints. Another official hoped that salaries for group C and D employees would be recovered from interest payments on the state’s investments stationed at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) even if salaries to other employees are delayed.
Contract and temporary employees were not paid for June until Thursday.
Earlier, the state’s principal secretary for finance Vanlalchhuanga told reporters that the state government would face major fiscal problems following the Centre’s directive to the state governments to release all funds under CSS to the concerned departments.
The Center has asked all the states to release all the CSS funds within 21 days of receiving them.
Meanwhile, the state’s tax minister, Lalchamliana, stated that a drop in the state’s contribution to taxes and revenue deficit grants after devolution from the Center has triggered a financial crisis in the state.
Addressing a leadership training program in Aizawl on Thursday, the minister said that Mizoram avails only 0.56 per cent (Rs.230 cr) of the total share of taxes from the Center in a fiscal year.
“We have not received the subsidy amounting to Rs. 2,600 crore which we should have received between April 2020 to 2022,” he said, adding that for these reasons the state is facing financial constraints.
He added that the 15th Finance Commission had earmarked only Rs. 6,544 crore as revenue gap (deficit) subsidy for the state for the period 2021-2025 against Rs. 21,183 crore during 2016-2020 released by the 14th Finance Commission.
Opposition parties, the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) and Congress have held Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who also holds the finance portfolio, responsible for the financial crisis due to his alleged fiscal mismanagement.
Well-placed sources said that the state government has already availed special facilities for drawing (advance ways and special means) besides advance ways and means.
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