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HOUSE PASSES SEVEN DEMANDS AMOUNTING TO Rs. 3254,04,51,450/-

Published on Fri, 28 Feb, 2020 Both


Imphal, February 27, 2022 (DIPR): On the tenth day of the ongoing 10th Session of the 11th Manipur Legislative Assembly, the House unanimously passed seven Demands for Grants amounting to a total of Rs. 3254,04,51,450/- today.

The demands are Rs. 2252,34,65,450 for Demand No. 10 – Education, Rs. 30,77,92,000 for Demand No. 27 – Election, Rs 233,98,34,000 for Demand No. 36 – Minor Irrigation, Rs 44,15,30,000 for Demand No. 39 – Sericulture, Rs 501,42,90,000 for Demand No. 40 – Water Resources, Rs 107,000,87,000 for Demand No. 43 – Horticulture and Soil Conservation and Rs 84, 34,53,000 for Demand No. 45 – Tourism.

During the Demand Discussion on Tourism, Chief Minister Shri N. Biren Singh said that there is no disparity in the fund allocation for different festivals in the State. Stating that Shirui Festival has become popular and has caught the attention of the public in short span of time, he said that the present budget allocation for the festival will be increased from Rs 5 crore. He also lauded the tireless efforts of the local MLAs in popularizing the festival.  

He also informed the House that as part of the Government’s effort to turn Manipur into a tourist destination, the Government is planning to set up summer city at Tengnoupal since the climatic condition in the summer season is pleasant.

For making Manipur Sangai Festival more popular, the Government has been organising curtain raiser in major cities including Delhi, apart from giving publicity through local and national medias. There have been articles published regarding the festival in national magazine along with inflight magazines.

To promote tourist spots in all the assembly segments in the State, he said that Rs 30 lakh each have been earmarked. He also suggested that the local MLAs can utilize Rs 20 lakh from the Local Area Development fund in order to meet the shortage of fund for developing parks in their respective assembly constituencies. He also maintained that concerned departments and tour operators have also been encouraged to showcase good hospitality to the domestic and foreign tourists.

He also highlighted to the August House that due to the initiatives taken up by the Government, the tourist footfall for domestic and foreign tourist has witnessed an increasing trend in past few years.

During the Demand Discussion on Education, Minister in-charge Shri Th. Radheshyam clarified that there is politicization in education. He said that the curriculum for the students is prepared following the guidelines and policies. Regarding the delay in distribution of school uniforms and textbooks, he clarified that the delay was due to the necessary official procedures in procuring the said items. He also assured the House that outmost effort will be taken up to prevent such delays in future.

Reminding that the Government has initiated many welfare schemes for both the students and the teachers, he said that teachers’ training programme, no school bag day as part of the School Fagathansi Mission. Preference will be given to the teachers hailing from the local area where the school is situated. 

Clarifying to a questioned raised regarding quality of quality and price of textbooks issued to the students, Minister Radheshyam said that books published by NCERT is cheaper comparatively to SCERT and BOSEM because of the high quality paper used in SCERT/BOSEM textbooks. He also said that he will look into the possibility of lowering the cost of SCERT/BOSEM textbooks without compromising the quality.

Regarding the fresh appointment of Vice Chancellor of Manipur University, Education Minister assured the House that he will appeal to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to consider the needs and requirements based on the suitability of the State.

 During the Demand Discussion on Horticulture and Soil Conservation, Minister in-charge Shri Th. Shyamkumar said that the department has been aggressively working for organic farming under various schemes including Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Regions (MOVCDNER) to realize the potential of organic farming in the State. He said Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) which is a centrally sponsored scheme, has been successfully implemented in the State for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root & tuber crops, spices and aromatic plants among others.

He said that the cash crops like coffee and cardamom (elaichi) can be introduced as an alternative to the rampant poppy plantations in the hill districts to discourage poppy cultivation. He said that it is a matter of concern that the poppy is being cultivated instead of food crops due to high market price. Introducing cash crops suitable to the climatic conditions of the State can drastically reduce poppy plantation, he added.

He also informed the House that in Ukhrul district avocado plantation has been introduced which has high export value. Similarly kiwi fruit in Senapati and pineapple in Imphal East, Churachandpur is being cultivated for the past few years.

Shri Letpao Haokip, in-charge Water Resources informed the House that the State has received Rs 32 crore for Loktak Lift Irrigation (LLI) to create irrigation potential. He said that dredging work has partially begun as part of Clean Loktak campaign. The construction  and repairing of canals to provide irrigation water from Dolaithabi Project is also underway. Project for water body siltation and restoration has also been prepared, he added.

The Bir Tikendrajit University, Manipur Bill, 2020; the Manipur Sewerage Bill, 2020 and the Manipur Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments, Taxation (Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2020 were passed unanimously by the House.  (DIPR)