State spent Rs.139 cr for COVID activities: CM

Correspondent KOHIMA, AUG 13 (NPN) : Nagaland chief minister and leader of House, Neiphiu Rio said altogether Rs 139 crore has been spent so far for both medical and non medical interventions vis-à-vis COVID-19, of which the State government’s share was about Rs 112 crore, including Rs 3.35 crore spent approximately from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF).

Making a statement on COVID at the 6th session of 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) here on Thursday, Rio said the Nagaland was a revenue-deficit State and did not have enough resources. However, he said that had not stopped his government from doing whatever could be done for taking all possible steps to combat COVID-19 to keep the people safe.

For improving medical infrastructure and putting in place systems, equipment and manpower for winning the battle against the pandemic, he claimed that the government had spent more than Rs 62 crore and out of this the assistance received from Government of India and other sources was about Rs 10 crore. He added that the remaining Rs 52 crore was spent by the State from its own resources.

Rio informed the House that getting resources was tough given the overall constraints and reduction in the revenues due to the pandemic and lockdown, which forced the government to take several measures to mobilise additional revenue.

He said it had cut down non-essential expenditure by 15% and also mobilised additional revenue by levying COVID cess @ Rs 5 and Rs 6 on per litre of diesel and petrol respectively in the best interest of the people.

He said Rs 74 crore was spent on non-medical interventions like relief to stranded people, distribution of food and dry rations to migrants, needy people, preparation of quarantine centres and entire quarantine arrangements, transport arrangements for bringing people back, IEC (information, education & communication) activities, etc, of which the Central assistance was only about 14 crore.

Observing that the pandemic had sweeping across the world, including India, in the past six months and infecting millions of people and causing thousands of deaths, Rio remarked that Nagaland too was affected. But by the grace of God, he said the State remained relatively free from the virus in the initial phase, giving time for preparation.

He said the State’s COVID positive tally till August 12 stood at 3,118 cases, out of which 1,427 are from the armed forces, 1,115 are returnees, 319 from contacts and 203 are frontline workers.

As there had been no instance where the source of a case could not be traced, he said the health department was of the view that there was no community transmission in Nagaland so far.

Though preventive and preparatory measures were started from January onwards, the chief minister said the State went into a full disaster management mode from March 18 when provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005 were invoked.

Since then, he claimed that the frontline workers, doctors and nurses, district administration and police, National State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), municipal authorities and other essential services departments were working 24×7 to deal with multiple challenges brought on by the pandemic.

He added that they are working in close coordination with tribal hohos, mass-based civil society organisations, church bodies and countless volunteers, all of whom are giving their invaluable services to handle the crisis.

Lauding their involvement, Rio observed that the robust response to the challenge by the people once again proved the effectiveness of Naga community’s spirit and strength, giving hope that no challenge was big enough when the people resolve to act with unity of purpose.

He said the focus was on improving and upgrading health infrastructure, besides setting up and running quarantine centres, COVID hospitals and COVID care centres.

Further, he claimed that the State government had not only created sufficient testing capacities within Nagaland in record time, but had also substantially augmented the number of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel, besides roping in private hospitals to complement the government efforts in dealing with the crisis.

Asserting that the government had taken all possible measures to deal with this unprecedented health crisis in living memory, he claimed that the response had been much better than many other more resourceful States, adding many initiatives had become a model for other States to emulate.

Barring a few unfortunate incidents, he maintained that the State had succeeded to a great extent in its endeavour and exuded confidence that with the support of the people, Team Nagaland would overcome the crisis.

He appealed the people not to panic or stigmatise those who might unfortunately get infected like the frontline workers who are selflessly working day and night to keep everyone safe from the disease.

Earlier, the house observed obituary reference for five former legislators that included Khakheho Sukhalu, Noklem Konyak, Dr T.M. Lotha, Rev Lhousuohie Mhasi and Er Sualemba with a two-minute silence in respect for the departed souls.

Other highlights of the NLA session include laying of the Annual Administrative reports of Justice & Law department and Soil & Water Conservation department for 2019-2020 by chief minister Neiphiu Rio and V. Kashiho Sangtam respectively.

Rio also introduced and moved ‘The Nagaland Goods and Service Tax (amendment) bill 2020 which was considered and passed during the assembly session. The chief minister also minister in charge of NSDMA laid the reports/rules of State Disaster Management plan, incidents response system, state disaster management rules and minimum standards of relief.

A total of 27 starred and unstarred questions were placed of which most were related to COVID -19 and Health & Family Welfare department related matters.

Assembly committee reports were presented by K. Tokugha Sukhalu chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, N. Bongkhao Konyak member of the committee of Public Undertakings and Toshi Wungtung member of the Estimate Committee. Committee of Subordinate Legislation and Committee on Government Assurance could not present their reports, a DIPR report stated.

Oppn boycott marks NLA session
The one-day sixth session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) was held here on Thursday amidst total boycott by the opposition NPF legislators.

While 22 members from the treasury bench attended the session, 18 legislators, including from the opposition bench, sought leave.
On, Thursday Leader of Opposition, T.R. Zeliang said that attending the session for obituary reference and passing of government Bills did not make any sense when the State was confronted with numerous issues. Zeliang claimed that the opposition had proposed to discuss Naga political issue, which was rejected.

Also NPF legislature party spokesperson Imkong Imchen said that opposition MLAs had filed 29 questions to be answered during the session but only 12 questions were accepted by the Assembly secretariat, while the time allotted to the Opposition for discussion on matters related to COVID was a mere 35 minutes, which he said was insufficient.

Reminding the speaker of the dignity of NLA, Imchen alleged that its democratic principles had been repeatedly abused on the pretext of implementing COVID-19 measures. Thus, in order to protect democratic practices and maintain the sanctity of the Assembly, Imchen said the NPF would boycott the one-day session, which had been convened for “mere fulfilment of constitutional obligation”.

NLA session adjourned sine die: After completing all the list of business, the sixth session of the 13th Assembly session was adjourned sine die by the Speaker Sharingain Longkumer.

Earlier, the speaker informed the House that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the session was called as it was mandated by the constitution.

He said the Assembly authority had conducted a comprehensive COVID test before the session in order to minimise the risk of exposure among the members and others attending the session.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/state-spent-rs-139-cr-for-covid-activities-cm/220509.html