AG hails budget as positive phenomenon

Kohima, Mar 31: Nagaland Accountant General (AG) Ram Mohan Johri has appreciated 2007-08 state Budget for improving the fiscal management as compared to last year, official sources said today.

Talking to reporters here yesterday, Mr Johri said the state had limited resources and the deficit presented by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, who also holds the Finance portfolio, was a positive phenomenon.

Commenting on the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Mr Johri pulled up some state government departments including Health and Family Welfare, Power, Education and Transport and Communication for anomalies and lack of effective budgetary control.

He also revealed similar anomalies in all the nine departmentally managed government commercial and quasi-commercial undertakings.

On the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) mission in the state, Mr Johri pulled up for mismanagement, inefficiency and diversion of funds of the mission.

Citing a survey conducted in August 2003, he said three districts, that were test-checked, were found grossly deficient in infrastructure as 76 per cent of schools had no drinking water facilities, 94 per cent had no electricity, 55 per cent had no verandahs, 97 per cent had no toilets for girls, 92 per cent of schools had no urinal and above all 86 per cent of school buildings had dilapidated walls, roofs and floors.

''Forty three per cent of the teachers were not adequately qualified and 65 per cent of teachers were not trained to perform their jobs,'' Mr Johri said adding that SSA funds of Rs 10.65 lakh were diverted for distribution of free text books in Kiphire under (then) Tuensang district though the state was providing funds for the purpose.

UNI