Guwahati Dec 24 PTI Assam has recorded a decline in its growth rate while its fiscal deficit outstanding debt and public debt have increased significantly at the end of 2019-20 a Comptroller and Auditor CAG report on state finance for the period said on Friday The report laid in the state Assembly on the last day of the Winter Session said the GSDP of the state grew from Rs 227959 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 351318 crore quick estimates in 2019-20 with Compounded Annual Growth Rate CAGR of 1142 per cent against the national CAGR of 1037 per cent However there was a decline in the growth rate from 1647 per cent in 2015-16 to 1122 per cent in 2019-20 it added It further said the state could achieve revenue surplus only during two years in the five year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20 and in containing the fiscal deficit below 3 per cent of GSDP in three out of five years in the same period During 2019-20 the fiscal deficit stood at 425 per cent of GSDP which was significantly more than the limit of 3 per cent fixed under the Assam Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management AFRBM Act The fiscal deficit which increased by 21210 per cent from 477906 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1491580 crore in 2019-20 was the highest level of fiscal deficit since the enactment of the AFRBM Act in 2005 the report said It further said outstanding debt of the state rapidly increased from Rs 3905459 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 7225652 crore in 2019-20 with the debtGSDP ratio increasing from 1713 per cent to 2057 per cent over the same period Public debt constituted 75 per cent of total state debt at the end of 2019-20 and it grew at the rate of 2588 per cent during the year the highest in the last five-year period and also outpaced the growth rate of GSDP 1122 per cent during the year the CAG report said It also pointed that the state government had taken recourse to market loans on several occasions during 2019-20 despite having large cash balances It further said committed expenditure like salary and wages pensions and interest payments steadily increased during the five year of 2015-20 The committed expenditure during 2019-20 was 6432 per cent of the total revenue receipts and 6223 per cent of total revenue expenditure Among the recommendations made by the audit body it said the state government can make concrete efforts to augment own resources of revenue to bridge the mismatch between revenue receipts and expenditure and reduce its fiscal deficit It also recommended the state government to take steps to rationalise its committed revenue expenditure and use its cash balances for productive purposes and reduce market borrowings PTI SSG RG RG

Guwahati Dec 24 PTI The Assam Government on Friday suspended the Joint Director and Assistant Director of the District Employment Exchange Guwahati for alleged mismanagement in job fairs just hours after the minister concerned assured the Assembly of enquiry into any lapse Job fairs inviting private companies were organised on Thursday under the initiative of the government across the state that witnessed massive mismanagement with thousands of youths thronging the venues As reported in various sections of media Government of Assam has taken serious cognizance of the mismanagement of job fairs held in various districts of Assam on December 23 the Skill Employment and Entrepreneurship Department said in a statement As per the direction of the Skill Employment and Entrepreneurship Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary the Guwahati-based District Employment Exchanges Joint Director T Doungel and Assistant Director Lipika Datta have been suspended it added The statement said that the duo have been placed under suspension for improper planning mismanagement and gross negligence of duty Earlier during the day Patowary assured the Assam Assembly of conducting an enquiry into the alleged short fallings or lapses on part of the government in the matterCongress legislator Rakibul Hussain raised the issue regarding holding of employment fairs in different parts of the state on Thursday He read out headlines from different Assamese newspapers in the House alleging irregularities in organising the fairs and harassment to the job aspirants Hussain asked for a government statement on the issue replying to which Patowary said he was aware that there were some problems due to the large number of participants These melas fairs are routine matters Private companies are invited to participate and the government acts only as a facilitator the minister said Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi also expressed concern over media reports on unruly scenes at the fairs and asked the government to work with sincerity for securing the future of the unemployed youths of the state Holding a press conference later another opposition party Assam Jatiya Parishad AJP demanded resignation of Patowary for cheating and insulting the unemployed youths of the state There is no need to organise job fairs for private companies which anyway hire people through their processes Giving a wrong impression the government gave huge contracts to event management companies to hold the job fairs AJP President Lurinjyoti Gogoi said PTI TR SSG RG RG

Guwahati Dec 24 PTI Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday wished the people of the state on the auspicious occasion of Christmas In his message Mukhi conveyed his warm greetings and best wishes to the people belonging to Christianity in particular and all the people in general on the occasion of Christmas Christmas is a celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ and on this occasion let us all take a pledge to follow the teachings of Lord Jesus and recall his efforts towards creating a compassionate society -- a society filled with love humanity and compassion he added Mukhi appealed to the people to use this occasion to spread the message of peace co-existence amity and camaraderie among mankind through joy and merriment He further urged upon all to celebrate the festival following all the safety guidelines and COVID-19 appropriate behaviour The chief minister also greeted the people of Assam more particularly the people belonging to Christianity on the occasion of Christmas Lord Jesus Christ inspired us with his message of humanity to go forward unitedly For peaceful co-existence the lesson given by Jesus Christ is still a sound way forward for all of us he added Sarma said that the celebrations of Christmas will help the people of the state in strengthening the bond of friendship and camaraderie and build the society on the robust platform of peace amity and prosperity He also said that the life and teachings of Jesus Christ should enable the people of state to go forward on the robust foundation of social values to strengthen the bond of universal brotherhood Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary has extended warm greetings to the people of Assam for the Christmas In a statement he said Christmas is a joyous festival that spreads the message of love kindness and generosity I hope Christmas motivates us to work together for peace prosperity and compassion in our state PTI TR RG RG

Guwahati Dec 24 PTI Authorities of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam are conducting a waterfowl census to record the number of aquatic and migratory birds thronging the waterbodies of the reserve forest an official said on Friday The five-day exercise will end on December 26 he said Altogether 150 seasoned birdwatchers have been involved in the fourth waterfowl census along with forest personnel They are using binoculars rangefinders and GPS technologies and the survey report is likely to be released on December 28 the official said The objectives of the survey are to record the number of waterfowl winter migratory birds and to monitor and analyse the state of the wetlands he said He pointed out that the park is not just about one-horned rhinos and tigers but the UNESCO World Heritage site is also home to waterbirds The last annual census of waterbirds in the park was carried out in February this year and recorded a 175 per cent increase in the number of such species including those migrating from Europe central and east Asia Altogether 93491 birds of 112 species were counted during the two-day waterfowl census in the national park The total number of birds had increased from 34284 in 2020 The national park received less rainfall this year leading to a fall in the water level of the wetlands But we are confident that the number of waterfowl will not decline as areas under Burapahar Laokhowa and Burachapori have been freed from encroachment This led to an increase in habitat area of migratory birds the official said The top three species counted during the last census were Eurasian coot bar-headed goose and common teal The earlier survey attributed the rise in the number of birds visiting Kaziranga to improved habitat management and water conservation measures he added PTI DG SBN BDC BDC

Guwahati Dec 24 PTI A four-year-old female giraffe has died in Assam State Zoo here possibly due to accidental suffocation a senior official of the facility said on Friday The giraffe died late on Thursday night and a post-mortem examination will be conducted to know the exact cause of death Divisional Forest Officer in-charge of Assam State Zoo Ashwini Kumar told PTI Prima facie the death appears to be accidental due to suffocation but the exact cause will be known only after the autopsy he said The giraffe named Rongili was brought to Assam in December 2019 from Patna Zoo and a male giraffe was brought from Mysore Zoo with permission from the Central Zoo Authority CZA The male giraffe is doing fine Kumar added PTI DG ACD ACD