Thursday, March 27, 2008

Mizoram assembly passes budget for 2008-2009

Aizawl, Mar 27 : Mizoram Assembly on Thursday passed the state annual budget for 2008-09 amounting to Rs 2,625.03 crore as presented in the legislature by Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who also holds Finance portfolio, on March 11.

Demand-wise discussion on the budget commenced from March 19 and was concluded by passing the demands of Sports Minister Z.H. Ropuia and Chief Minister Zoramthanga Thursday.

The state annual budget, sans new taxes and new tax rates on the year of the state assembly election, is estimated to open with Rs 84.65 deficit and close with Rs 30.36 crore as the next fiscal is estimated to have a surplus of Rs 54.29

PTI

India okays Rs. 535 cr Myanmar project to help Northeast

New Delhi, Mar 27 : The government on Thursday approved a Rs 535.91 crore multi-modal transit transport project in Myanmar, which India will use for improving access to the North-Eastern states.

The Union Cabinet sanctioned the funds under the ‘Aid to Myanmar’ project for the upgradation of Sittwe Port and Kaladan Waterway. The money will also be used for construction of a road from Setpyitpyin (Kaletwa) to the India-Myanmar border.

“The project will provide an access to Mizoram and to other North-Eastern states as well as an outlet to the sea,” an official spokesperson told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The project, to be executed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, also involves construction and improvement of 117 km road on the Indian side from India-Myanmar border.

The government approved signing of the Framework Agreement and Protocol on Facilitation of Transit Transport and Protocol on Maintenance and Administration to facilitate the project.

PTI

Militants own responsibility for killing three persons

Imphal, Mar 27 : Banned People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak) has owned responsibility for the March 24 incident in which three persons including two girls were shot dead in Thoubal district of Manipur.

In a statement here Wednesday, Prepak said ” two girls - I. Nirmala (17) and Th Promila (16)– and a youth identified as Th. Romesh (21) were killed at Heirok village while the victims were celebrating ‘thabal chongba’ dance festival in connection with holi on Monday night.”

Requesting the people to pardon the outfit for killing the two girls, the statement said Prepak was attempting to eliminate Romesh for colluding with enemies of Prepak and for trying to kill Prepak members.

It claimed while opening fire at Romesh, stray bullets also hit the two girls and injured another girl also.

PTI

Assam buys rice worth Rs 900 crore daily

Guwahati, Mar 27 : Though Assam is primarily an agriculture-based State, it has to buy rice worth about Rs 900 crore daily from outside the State. The daily requirement of rice in Assam is 12,000 metric tonnes, and 17 per cent of this is bought from outside the State.

Informing the State Assembly of this while replying to a question from BJP Legislature Party leader Mission Ranjan Das, Assam Argiculture Minister Pramila Rani Brahma today said during the last three/four years production of rice was less in the State due to various reasons like floods and drought, lack of assured irrigation and dependency on rainfall, non-availability of flood-tolerant winter rice and cold-tolerant, short-duration summer rice varieties, lack of adequate credit support, decrease in cultivable land area due to siltation and deposition of sand, gradual decrease in productivity of soil, and inadequate market infrastructure leading to widening of the demand-production gap of the commodity. “To bridge the gap, we have taken steps like development of mechanization and irrigation, strengthening of input and credit delivery mechanism, creating buffer stock of seeds for natural calamity, implementation of the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in 13 districts of the State, implementation of seed village program from the current financial year, strengthening of price support and market information etc,” she said.

On the vast difference between vegetable prices at the places of their production and Guwahati, the minister said to minimize the gap, the Government is contemplating on providing transport subsidy to the farmers so as to enable them to bring their produce to Guwahati markets instead of selling the produce to middlemen at throwaway prices. “The Government is ready to extend 33 per cent subsidy to entrepreneurs willing to set up fruit and vegetable preservation units, mini cold storage etc in the State,” she added.

It may be mentioned here that as on March 17 this year, the prices of brinjal were Rs 5 to Rs 6 at Sorbhog, Rs 4 to Rs 5 at Barpeta Road, Rs 2 at Mandia and Rs 14 at Ganeshguri in Guwahati. Likewise, the prices of potato were Rs 5.30 to Rs 6.50 at Sorbhog, Rs 5 to Rs 6 at Barpeta Road, Rs 4.50 at Mandia and Rs 8 at Ganeshguri in Guwahati. Such vast differences were seen in the prices of tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, pea and carrot at Sorbhog, Barpeta road and Mandia from that at Ganeshguri in Guwahati.

TS

4 CRPF men get life for ’95 killings

After 12 years, four CRPF men involved in the RIMS massacre — where nine civilians were killed — have been sentenced to life imprisonment. The order was passed by a Guwahati court recently.

On January 7, 1995, the four, who had been on guard duty at RIMS hospital in Imphal, were attacked by unknown gunmen. In retaliation, they had opened indiscriminate fire on a group of civilians, killing nine on the spot. Since then, many human rights bodies and civil societies have been demanding punishment for the CRPF personnel.

The CBI’s Special Crime Branch, Kolkata, had registered a case on November 14, 1996, following a request from the Manipur government. The case was shifted from Manipur to Guwahati on the intervention of the Supreme Court. The trial concluded on March 17 last.