The budget for Chin State for the 2019-2020 fiscal year is more than 260 billion kyat (US$170.75 million), according to government officials.
It marks an increase from the 2018-2019 budget of 220 billion kyat ($144.45 million), with half provided by the Union and half from the state.
This next year, the Union government has allocated more than 136 billion kyat ($89.3 million) for regional development and the state will kick in nearly 127.23 billion kyat ($83.55 million).
Wi Kaw, the planning and finance minister for Chin State, told Chin media outlets in a meeting on October 31 that not all townships in the state would receive the same proportion of funds.
“We cannot equally divide the state budget among the nine townships in Chin State. Some townships will get more budget allocation if there are many projects by both the Union and the state government in certain townships,” he said.
The Union government will implement projects concerning a college, sports academy and midwifery school in the state capital of Hakha, as well as the construction of an airport in Falam.
State funds will be prioritized toward the transportation sector, including road construction in all nine townships.
The nine townships will reportedly get equal budgets for some rural development projects implemented by the military-run border affairs ministry and the rural development department.
The Chin State township with the largest population is Paletwa, which has seen intensified fighting between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army in recent years, leading to widespread displacement among villagers. Paletwa has been designated the recipient of the highest rural development budget in the state, though it remains unclear how the projects would be implemented in the township amid ongoing conflict.
Of the funds in the Chin State government’s budget, 51.39 billion kyat ($33.75 million) are allocated for road construction, 23.55 billion ($15.47 million) for rural development, 18.34 billion ($12.04 million) for border affairs and an area described as ‘ethnic development,’ 8.48 billion ($5.47 million) for municipal development, and 7.31 billion ($4.8 million) for electrification.
