India News | Meghalaya Spends Rs 399cr in Fight Against COVID-19: Deputy CM
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Meghalaya government has so far spent Rs 399 crore in its fight against the coronavirus, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Tuesday.
Shillong, Oct 6 (PTI) The Meghalaya government has so far spent Rs 399 crore in its fight against the coronavirus, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Tuesday.
He said the money was spent to meet different requirements in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic from March till September.
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Tynsong said Rs 188.9 crore was spent under the National Health Mission (NHM) for setting up of Corona Care Centres, purchase of PPEs, ambulances and surveillance.
Under Directorate of Health Services (DHS), Rs 82.4 crore was spent for procurement of oxygen cylinders, BP monitor, digital thermometers, ventilators, surgical gloves and thermal scanners, among others, he added.
Another Rs 14.7 crore was spent for transportation of stranded citizens and providing relief payment and provision kits under the Chief Minister's Special Grant (CMSG), Tynsong said.
Further, Rs 7.4 crore was spent for procurement of ambulances, biomedical waste vans, and setting up community quarantine centres under the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF), he said.
The state government has also spent Rs 51 crore for providing relief to over 2 lakh people, including organised workers, under the Chief Minister's Relief Against Wage Loss (CMRAWL), Rs 15 crore for advance sanction of Rs 25 lakh to each of the 60 MLAs for financial assistance in their respective constituencies and Rs 3.5 crore from the PM-Cares fund for providing food and accommodation to migrant labourers, Tynsong said.
Also, Rs 8.9 crore was spent from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for setting up of relief camps and screening points, Rs 23.7 crore from the State Disaster Resources Fund (SDRF) for the creation of additional testing laboratories, purchase of testing kits, PPEs, thermal scanners and setting up of containment zones in the entire state, he said.
Tynson said Rs 3.5 crore was spent for conducting sanitisation works by the Urban Affairs Department.
According to the deputy chief minister, Rs 48 crore of the total expenditure was received as assistance from the Centre.
"I also to make to it clear as people may say anything but all these will be subjected to auditing and will be reflected in the annual report of the Comptroller Auditor General of India (CAG) next year," he said.
Tynsong also said that the state's financial position is not conducive.
"It is not that good. Therefore, the chief minister and I will go to Delhi as the Centre has a special financial package for the state," he said.
Besides, the state is also trying to increase its revenue by opening up of wine stores and accelerating economic activities, he said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)