Members of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA), participating in the Budget 2023-24 discussion, have termed it as a comprehensive and ‘citizen-oriented’ budget.
Advisor, Z Nyusietho Nyuthe, participating in the discussion, said that the budget gives equal importance to both the urban and rural populations and appreciated the inclusion of youth empowerment.
Thanking Neiphiu Rio, CM and the Leader of the House (LoH), MLA Naiba Konyak termed the budget as Eastern Naga People’s Organisation (ENPO) friendly for considering their plight, a DIPR report stated.
He appreciated “Brand Nagaland” and “Naga soft power” mentioned in the budget aimed at excelling in the chosen fields and careers. Konyak also suggested that the students of backward areas be allowed to go for coaching classes with financial assistance by the government as per the plans and schemes in the area of capacity building by the government.
Since 2023 is the International Year of Millets, Konyak appealed to the government to give more importance to the eastern areas since a majority of the cultivators practice Jhum cultivation where millets are grown on a large scale.
Meanwhile, MLA P Longon said that Nagas yearn for peace and development after traversing through such a tumultuous journey on the issue of Naga political problem.
As such, an opposition-less government is needed to bring mutual consensus on any issue(s) related to Indo-Naga political issue, he said.
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He appealed to all the stakeholders to judiciously utilise funds at the maximum level in a just and fair manner and urged the government of the day to focus more on the development of rural areas, it said.
Minister for PHED and Corporations, N Jacob Zhimomi, during the general discussion on budget speech, called for a speedy conclusion to the Indo-Naga political issue.
On the introduction of CMHIS, he appreciated the approach of the government which will benefit the middle class, lower middle class and below-poverty-line citizens of the state in the health sector.
Agri and allied being the mainstay and economy of Nagaland, average per capita income in the rural needs to be checked and pushed so that they become self-reliant, he added.
He also highlighted huge losses in the power revenue sector due to the communitisation policy in the rural areas and said that it should be checked by applying rechargeable power meters.
Zhimomi also apprised the issue of poor services by the telecom service providers and urged the government to address the issue, it added.
Advisor, School Education and SCERT, Dr. Kekhrielhoulie Yhome said that the budget is comprehensive with special stress on capacity building, youth-centric initiatives and innovation.
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MLA Achumbemo Kikon appeals to enhance LADP fund
Meanwhile, MLA Achumbemo Kikon stated that the present LADP allocation is not sufficient to bring any kind of development in the constituency because of which, he earnestly appealed to the government to look into it and enhance the amount from the present allocation of Rs. 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore.
Bhandari, being an inspection bungalow since 1957, he also suggested the formation of a Sub-Divisional Planning and Development Board for Bhandari sub-division.
He further urged the government and the department concerned to look into the matter of human and animal conflict in Bhandari sub-division.
On oil exploration and extraction, he requested the government to find out the best possible ways to benefit the people with a proper understanding of the land owners and locals of those particular areas.
Advisor, Transport and Technical Education, Temjenmenba said the Budget 2023-2024 emphasized overall sectors in line with the capacity building initiated by the government.
He also mentioned the importance of CSR in the budget which he said will be a model to bring all-round development in the state.
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