If Assam government has money, why are they taking loans? asks MP Ajit Bhuyan

GUWAHATI: The Assam government’s alleged decision to borrow Rs 1,000 crore from the Centre to resolve flood-related issues has drawn flak from Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan.

Journalist-turned-politician Bhuyan claims that his travels to flood-affected areas revealed a different picture than the one the government is trying to depict.

“As a Rajya Sabha MP, I went to take stock of the flood situation in affected areas and saw that the people have not received adequate assistance from the state government,” Bhuyan told this publication.
Claiming that the economy is in doldrums, Bhuyan chided the government for seeking loans from the Center to tide over the crisis.“They (the government) claim that they have adequate money. If they have so much money, why

are they seeking loans? They are running the economy into the ground by charging excessive taxes. Close to 150 people have died but they have not received a single penny from the government,” he said, before going on to criticize Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting the state during the crisis.It needs mention here that Assam’s

Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in June fell by Rs 341 crore in comparison 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. The GST was 56% higher than the previous year, at Rs 1,44,616 crore. GST collections in June 2021 were Rs 92,800 crore.
Since June 17, the flood situation has deteriorated noticeably, bringing general life – including businesses – to a halt.