[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t last, the expected thing is about to happen. A state like Nagaland can no longer live on the mercy of the Central government. Or, most states in the North East India region have to suffer as the Centre is in the mood to stop the ‘doling-out ‘ habit for the region. We have to strive for our survival. The state governments in the region have to find means to generate resources to run the day today affairs. In other words, the time has come for the reverse: contribute to the Centre in the form of tax.
Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley hinted at a cut in grants from the Centre to states, saying the states will have to stand on their own by generating resources for development and other schemes.
Mr Jaitley said that ‘gone are the days when the Centre would provide money and the states would run the government. Today every state has to stand on its own’. Jaitley said the economies of the states in the country depend on investments made by the investors, who, besides looking for profits, also create employment.“How does the economy of a state work? Investments are required for it and investors want profit. Besides looking for profit, the investors create employment and pays taxes to the government. The state government gets money which it can use for development and make schemes for the poor people,” the Union Finance minister stated. He said this while addressing a public meeting in Srinagar on Wednesday.
It is worth mentioning here that for years now that activists, journalists and scholars have been raising this issue that the Northeast region has to sustain by itself. States in the region have to generate their own resources. The experts have been warning that a time will come soon where the Centre may no longer dole out money to the region. The Union Finance minister’s comment means that the policy makers or think-tanks of the government are working out things on this line.
