Mizoram CM presents state annual budget

AIZAWL, , MAR 19 (AGENCIES): Mizoram Chief Minister today presented the annual budget for 2010-2011 amounting to Rs 3577.92 crore with an estimated deficit of Rs 26.3 crore. Lal Thanhawla, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the full budget even though the Planning Commission

 is yet to finalise the state annual plan for 2010-11.
The current fiscal was started with an interim budget in March 2009 and a regular budget was presented only in October.
Lal Thanhawla said the delay in presenting the regular budget had resulted in the delay in utilisation of funds. ''The recommendation of the Public Expenditure Review Committee for spreading of expenditure uniformly throughout the year has not been possible and a bulge in the expenditure in the last part of the year could not be avoided.'' Lal Thanhawla said in his budgetary speech.
''Due to such disadvantages, I have taken the option for going for a regular budget even before finalising the annual plan. We would start with the annual plan size of Rs 1250 crore, and any increase in the annual plan size would be considered in the course of the year,'' he explained in his budgetary speech.
The break-up of the 2010-2011 budget is Rs 2,134.66 crore under non-plan, Rs 1,250 crore under plan and Rs 193.26 crore under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes(CSS).
Lal Thanhawla said the New Land Use Policy (NLUP), the flagship programme of the Congress government in the state, would continue to be given the highest priority.
''The scheme aims at a complete change over from unsustainable shifting cultivation to permanent farming with the aim of solving the problems of food scarcity to sustainable livelihood,'' he said.
The outline of implementation and corresponding allocation of funds would be worked out in due course, the minister added.
2 youths drown in Tlawng river
Two youths of Aizawl's Ramhlun Venglai locality today drowned in Tlawng river near here while washing blankets.
Police said while the victims, C Lalruatfela(27) and Lalfakawma(21), waded deeper into the river to wash blankets, they lost balance and drowned around 1230 hrs.
The victims were active members of the Ramhlun Venglai KTP (youth department of Presbyterian Church) engaged in waged laundry service of the residents of the locality, Sairang police said.
Search operation was immediately carried out by Sairang police along with locals and the other members of the KTP, Sairang police said.
Their bodies were recovered shortly from few-metre distance away from the point they drowned, Sairang police added.

ONGC finds crude in Golaghat, Sivasagar

Jorhat, March 19: The Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC) has discovered oil fields in Golaghat and Sivasagar districts of Assam recently and is keen to resume operations in Nagaland, which has a vast reserve of oil and gas. This was disclosed by A.K. Balyan, the director (human resources) of ONGC at a news conference held at the state-owned company's Assam & Assam Arakan Basin headquarters at Cinnamara in Jorhat district today. Balyan said production had already started at the recently discovered Kasomarigaon oil filed in Golaghat district while it would start very soon at the North Geleki area in Sivasagar district. "Besides these two discoveries in Assam, a new gas pool has been discovered at Sundalbari in Tripura, which will contribute to the proposed Tripura power project of the ONGC," he added. The Assam & Assam Arakan Basin unit of ONGC looks after the company's exploration activities in the seven states of the Northeast. Its exploration activities in Nagaland, however, had to be stopped about 15 years ago because of "local problems" in the neighbouring state. "ONGC is keen to resume its activities in Nagaland but lack of a transparent system in that state has prevented us from doing so," Balyan said. The senior ONGC official, who is also in charge of the company's business development in the region, said Nagaland had got a huge reserve of oil and gas and the company would be happy to resume its activities in that state for the greater interest of the nation. ONGC had to pack off from Nagaland in 1994 because of threats from militant organisations, especially from the NSCN (Isak-Muivah). The company, official sources said, had invested more than Rs 100 crore in infrastructure and machineries in the state before pulling out. Balyan said the company's drilling performance in the Assam & Assam Arakan Basin had increased from 15 wells in 2008-09 to 24 wells by the end of February 2010 and was expected to complete 29-30 wells in the current fiscal. "Five leads to presence of new wells have already been obtained from various fields in Assam and some more are waiting to be added following testing shortly," he added. He said the basin had fared well on all fronts in oil and natural gas exploration. "This year also, the basin is expecting to add up a significant quantity of hydrocarbon accumulation," he added. The official said the Navaratna public sector unit was supplying cooking gas to Assam towns through the Assam Gas Company Limited. "At present, around 30,000 standard cubic metre of natural gas is being supplied per day from the fields of south Assam shelf and if the market of gas in towns like Jorhat, Uriamghat, Golaghat and Sarupathar expand, there is a potential of enhancing the rate of supply," he said. Regarding the ONGC's corporate social commitments towards the region, Balyan said its Assam & Assam Arakan Basin unit had contributed extensively to the socio-economic development of the community in and around the oil field areas there. "In this fiscal alone, the A&AA Basin has contributed Rs 1.8 crore." Balyan said the ONGC had also drawn up a project to preserve the ancient monuments of Ahom kings. (The Telegraph)