Guwahati: Assam will directly benefit with an additional amount of Rs 10,000 crore in the budget for 2023–24, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday.

Sarma said this money will allow the state government to deliver an “encouraging” budget of its own next month.
Sarma said that by allocating Rs 78,000 crore under untied funds for the area in her budget plans made in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Sitharaman had “placed the North East in a new vista”.

“The allocation of Rs 78,000 crore from tax devolution, which is in addition to the government programs, is significantly higher than what the 15th Finance Commission set. 40% of this will go to Assam alone, so the state’s government will directly profit and get Rs 10,000 crore,” said Sarma.

“This Budget has given us strength to produce an encouraging budget for the state since we have more money today,” he added.

He said that the NE states’ access to Rs 78,500 crore in untied funds means they may utilise the money any way they see fit.

According to him, this budget has given the region a fresh outlook. He said, “The allocation for the Centre's flagship programs under DONER has for the first time surpassed Rs 5,000 crore.”

Sarma added that the 15th Finance Commission had set aside Rs 22,916 crore for the state as tax devolution, while Sitharaman in her 2022–23 Budget provided Rs 25,544 crore. Sarma was speaking about the benefits that Assam stood to receive from the Budget.

“This time, she has set aside Rs 31,950 crore for Assam, which implies that at least Rs 6,500 crore would be available to the Assam government immediately as untied funds. If we spread this money across 12 months, we will receive an extra fund of around 550 crore rupees each month, for a total of 2,300 crore rupees per month. This will increase our capacity to operate creatively,” he added.

He emphasised that governments typically receive more money than is planned. “The last time, we planned Rs 25,000 crore but received Rs 29,000 crore instead. I'm confident that this time as well, we will surpass the planned sum of Rs 31,950 crore by approximately Rs 35,000 crore.”

According to Sarma, the budget advantages would extend beyond the state government to include urban entities, who would receive grants worth 61% more while panchayat bodies would receive grants worth 15% more.

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