Assam Govt’s expenditure on chartered flights reaches Rs 20 crore in one year

At a time when Assam is reeling under floods, it has come to light that the state government spent close to a whopping Rs 20 crore on chartered flights and helicopters.

This came to light after a certain Jagdip Mahanta on the behalf of non-governmental organization ‘Sahay Assam’ filed an RTI.

Responding to the RTI, the General Administration department of Assam on July last responded by stating that the state government had spent a total sum of Rs 19,71,42,601 in the financial year 2021-22.

RTI activist Mahanta has opined that the government’s mammoth expenditure on chartered flights is “worrisome.”

“This money belongs to the public. Instead of spending it on developmental works, the government’s expenditure of such a huge amount of funds on roaming the skies is inappropriate. The government should aim to spend public money for developmental purposes only.”

The Assam government’s financial condition is under intense scrutiny of late as its borrowings are now pegged at Rs 1,10,000 crore. Moreover, the state government is yet to clear contractors’ dues amounting to Rs 22,000 crore.

The state has also been hit by Goods and Services Tax (GST) shortfall this month, with collections in June falling by Rs 341 crore compared to May.

While GST collections totaled Rs 1,062 crore in May, they fell to Rs 972 crore in June. This decline has occurred at a time when floods have devastated many districts in Assam.

In comparison, the entire country collected Rs 1,44,614 in GST during the month of June.