Meghalaya CM calls for stringent monitoring to increase revenue collection

Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has called for more stringent monitoring by concerned government departments in order to arrest revenue leakage in the state.

Addressing the gathering at the training programme on GST for State Tax Officers at KJP Synod Conference Centre in Shillong, the Meghalaya Chief Minister said that the State Government is working at ways to strengthen and increase its revenue collection and urged all officers to be more innovative in their strategies to plug the loopholes and improve the system.

Lauding the efforts of revenue generation departments in meeting their annual targets, Conrad Sangma at the same time cautioned departments against complacency and exhorted officers to be committed to their work.

I have observed that revenue collection figures for last year have gone up from 500 Crore to 878 Crore. I am sure that we will be able to achieve much more in this financial year. If all of us put our heads together and work together we will see a huge jump in revenue collection, Conrad Sangma said.

Stating that Meghalaya depends 85% on Central Government revenue sources, the Chief Minister stressed on the need to increase the States contribution by strengthening its sources of revenue.

Underlining the importance of the GST training programme to officers of the State tax department, the Chief Minister said that similar training programmes should also be extended to all revenue-generating government departments to increase the knowledge base of field officers and personnel working at the grassroots level.

(By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati)