The 2024 Meghalaya budget is almost upon us, and it will be an important occasion to reflect on and assess the performance of the state and the future that awaits it under the current MDA government. No doubt, the opposition parties are already getting ready with the queries to highlight the gaps and failings of the government, which, on the other hand, is preparing their paperwork to highlight their accomplishments.
A particular feature of the claims of this government has been that what they do is always the first time that has ever been done in the state. Stating it once or twice is fine, but repeating it ad nauseam makes it annoying. It’s a BJP trope, and while the allegation that the NPP is a BJP-B team is not correct, the party does mimic the national party in terms of its marketing and branding. Hopefully, this budget is less of an imitation and more talks about the substance of the state’s performance.
As mentioned above, the political parties must have already done their homework on how to corner the government.
But belonging to the working class, people who live from paycheck to paycheck, I am less concerned about the politics of optics but very much about how my taxes are being spent. Are they bringing anything tangible to our lives, or are they surreptitiously being diverted to perpetuate an already widening inequality that should never happen in our indigenous tribal society? So, there are clarifications that should be forthcoming from the Meghalaya budget. If the political parties feel that these are genuine concerns, hopefully, they will raise them in this upcoming budget session.
The figures for 2023–2024 will not be available as it will take time to compile them as the financial year will only end on March 31st. But what will be available is the data on the 2022–2023 financial year, which can provide an insight into the priorities and intentions of the government. This data should not be looked at in isolation but must be compared with the 2021–2022 data that is already available (if possible since the MDA government took office in 2018) to find out the trend in expenditures under the key sectors. Rather than the Budget Estimates or the Revised Estimates, the past figures will be the Actual Figures, which are more important.
According to the document ‘Meghalaya Budget Analysis 2023–24’ brought out by PRS Legislative Research (an independent research institute that aims to make the Indian legislative process better informed, more transparent, and more participatory), there are thirteen key sectors that constitute more than 2/3rd of government spending. These are, viz., Social Welfare and Nutrition, Rural Development, Welfare of SC, ST, OBC, and Minorities, Water Supply and Sanitation, Agriculture and Allied Activities, Education, Sports, Arts, and Culture, Housing, Police, Irrigation and Flood Control, Health and Family Welfare, Urban Development, Energy, and Transport, which includes Roads and Bridges.
Eight out of these 13 sectors saw a decline from their Budget Estimates to their Actuals in 2021 – 2022, i.e., less money was spent than what was promised in the initial Meghalaya budget speech. In absolute terms, the biggest decline was noticed in Rural Development and Education, Sports, Arts, and Culture. Both of these sectors saw a cut in expenditure to the tune of 300 crore less than what was promised.
In proportional terms, the biggest decline was observed in Social Welfare and Nutrition (35%), followed by Rural Development, which experienced a cut of almost 30% in their final expenditure. Though the Actuals for 2022–2023 will only be available this year, the PRS Legislative Research document did share the Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for 2022–2023.
The three sectors, viz., Social Welfare and Nutrition, Agriculture and Allied Activities, and Police, which saw a decline in 2021–2022, again saw a decline in their Revised Estimates. Based on this, it appears that these three sectors are not a priority for the government. Incidentally, some of the health indicators that have performed worst in recent years, like child malnutrition (46% stunted) and anaemia among women and children (around 50% or more), are related to one of the sectors that continuously sees a reduction in expenditure from the Meghalaya budget estimates, i.e., Social Welfare and Nutrition.
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The recent border clashes have shown that there is a need to strengthen Police to counter the illegal encroachment by Assam. But with expenditure on Police being one of the first ones to be cut, it appears that Meghalaya will continue to be bullied by Assam. Finally, despite more than 70% of the people in the state depending on agriculture, this sector does not seem to be a priority for the government. The question that arises is: Where is the money meant for these sectors going then?
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