IRB results after Assembly session – CM N Biren

Last Updated on February 17, 2023 by SPN Editor

Chief Minister N Biren informed the House that recruitment results of the 10th & 12th Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB results) will be declared after the ongoing session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly.

Last year, IRB rifleman candidates protest against the govt for the delay in the declaration of IRB results and have even announced to boycott elections.

The Chief Minister stated this while giving clarification to queries made by opposition MLA Keisham Meghachandra during the general discussion on budget estimate 2022-2023 on Tuesday.

When the opposition MLA raised the issue of the Highway Protection Force, Chief Minister Biren who is also the leader of the House clarified that when the State Government requested the Centre to set up Highway Protection Force to protect the National Highways in the State, the Central Government denied the proposal giving reasons that other States will also make the same demand once it is provided to the State.

He conveyed that instead of a highway protection force, the Centre provided two IRB Battalions for the State. He divulged that the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the declaration of the IRB results but now it will be announced after the completion of the ongoing Assembly session.

With regard to the protection of National Highways in the State, the Chief Minister stated that GPS-tagged highway patrol vehicles have been deployed along the National Highways.

He informed that 34 police stations along the Indo-Myanmar border starting from Churachandpur to Jessami have been identified and that six security barracks along the Imphal-Jiribam National Highway have been constructed and Rs 2 crore each for the barracks has been sanctioned. The amount is not included in the budget and the same is sought from the Centre, he disclosed.

With regard to the fertilizer crisis, the Chief Minister clarified that it was due to a lack of communication as there is no dearth of fertilizer and the government is ready to provide the same to the farmers. The government is also ready to provide water pumps to the farmers if the State faces drought, he added.

With regard to supplying urea through local MLAs, the Chief Minister stated that some vested individuals have wrongly portrayed the local MLAs by relating them to the issue.

MLAs are elected representatives and public leaders. The government does not provide fertilizers to the MLAs. The government only provides urea fertilizer based on the list of farmers submitted by the MLAs.

What the MLAs are doing is to manage how to reach urea to the targeted beneficiaries. It is an uphill task for the government to provide fertilizer to the farmers in one go. The government should not be mistaken on the issue, the Chief Minister explained.

Responding to the charge made by the opposition MLA that the State Government is facing a financial crisis, the Chief Minister stated that support from both the ruling and opposition is the need of the hour to make the State self-reliant in the economy.

We can do nothing without revenue and we need to make Manipur a self-reliant State. Earlier, the State Government could use funds under central sponsored schemes for other reasons like salary payments. However, the Modi government is strict in using central funds by States, he stated.

Biren claimed that the double engine BJP government means streamlining the system, strengthening economic value, financial discipline and delivery with quality.

He also informed that earlier the open market borrowing capacity of the State was Rs 200 crore but with the improvement in GSDP of the State, the open market borrowing capacity has been increased to Rs 1800 crore.

Opposition MLA Meghachandra taking part in the general discussion stated that the Budget Estimate for 2022-2023 is not elaborate and it fails to reflect how the government is willing to take up development programmes. The direction of the budget is like a ship without radar in the vast ocean, he charged.

Conveying that open market borrowing of the State is high in the last five/six years, he stated that the budget is like an accountant statement with no hope for the welfare and development of the people.

According to the budget 2017-2018, the outstanding physical liability is Rs 9035.33 crore and the internal debt is Rs 5300.14 crore. However, the internal debt of the State in 2022-2023 has jumped to Rs 11,611.35 crore, showing that the State is facing a severe financial deficit. Open market borrowing capacity now stands at Rs 1800 crore, he pointed out.

The opposition MLA stated that the State Government borrowed Rs 840 crore from HUDCO Bank for the construction of government quarters and buildings. He stated that out of the total amount, Rs 350 crore will be used for the construction of government quarters at New Chekon while 230 crores for the construction of a VVIP guest house for the Prime Minister, President, Union Ministers and others.

What is the use of constructing such buildings at a time when the State is facing a financial crisis and unemployment, Meghachandra asked, adding that it would be more justified had the government invested the said big loan amount in income-generating units and employment-friendly projects.