Meghalaya heavily dependent on central revenue: Conrad K Sangma

SHILLONG: Pointing out that Meghalaya depends heavily on central government revenue sources, chief minister Conrad K Sangma has stressed on the need to increase the state's contribution by strengthening its sources of revenue.
The chief minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, called for more stringent monitoring by the government departments concerned to stop revenue leakage in the state.
Addressing a gathering at a training programme on GST for state tax officers at KJP Synod Conference Centre in the city on Monday, the chief minister said the state government is exploring 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, the chief minister cautioned against complacency and exhorted officers to be committed to their work. "I have observed that revenue collection figures for last year has gone up from Rs 500 crore to Rs 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," the chief minister said.
Underlining the importance of GST training programme to officers of the state tax department, he added that similar 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.