Agartala, July 21: Tripura Opposition leader, Animesh Debbarma, launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led state government, accusing it of misleading the public regarding budgetary allocations and concealing information about funds distribution to the Tripura ADC and tribal communities.
Addressing reporters at his office in the state assembly Friday, Debbarma raised concerns about the data presented by the government that almost 40 percent of the development fund shall be utilized for the tribal section of people, claiming that these figures were not officially and so were not tabled in the Assembly and later in the BJP party office during a press conference by Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath to mislead the people of the state.
He questioned why the government failed to present this information during the session and why it remained silent when the issue was raised by TIPRA Motha and CPIM legislators.
Debbarma, a senior leader of the TIPRA Motha Party also expressed apprehensions about the budget allocation for tribals, stating that if 39 percent of the budget is allocated to them, it would imply a reduction in funds for UR, SC, and OBC populations.
He argued that this situation has led to the deprivation of UR, OBC, and SC communities in Tripura over the past few years.
According to him, the ideal approach should be allocating funds proportionate to each population group’s percentage, which, in the case of tribals, would be 31 percent.
The opposition leader highlighted the significance of the Tripura ADC, established in 1985 to ensure direct development in tribal areas where central and state governments have limited access.
Debbarma emphasized that funds intended for tribal welfare should be channeled to the tribal council for targeted development initiatives.
Providing further information, Debbarma revealed that the allocated funds for the ADC are insufficient, with a meager 2.7 percent of the Rs. 27,654 crore budgetary outlay being allotted to the council.
He claimed that this data, which exposes the government’s underfunding of tribal development, is taken from the budget at a glance book, making any contradiction by the power minister, Ratan Lal Nath, an attempt to confuse the public.
Furthermore, Debbarma accused the state government of financial misappropriation and failure to provide utilization certificates for the tribal council’s work.
He cited the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report, revealing that the government has Rs. 263.23 crore worth of pending utilization certificates since 2020-21, including outstanding UCs amounting to Rs. 79.8 crore in 2020-21 and Rs. 184.15 crore in 2021-22.
Debbarma called for a comprehensive investigation into the state government’s actions related to tribal welfare since 2018 and urged the publication of a white paper to reveal the truth.
Addressing Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s scheduled visit to Tripura, Debbarma questioned the allocation of Rs. 1300 crores promised during her previous visit for tribal development and demanded accountability for the utilization of those funds.
Debbarma criticized the state government’s commitment to uplifting tribals, alleging that they merely talk about progress without taking substantial actions.
He accused the BJP party of being hypocrisy in politics as it promises for tribal welfare but the ground reality fund is not being allocated for their development.
The Opposition leader also condemned the incident of two women paraded bare and gang raped beside the ongoing communal violence in that state for more than two and a half month but surprisingly Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent and the state government failed to stop the violence.
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