DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand state government tabled the annual budget of over Rs 65,000 crore for the financial year 2022-2023 on Tuesday at Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in Dehradun.
Prem Chand Agarwal, state finance minister, in his 122-minute budget speech, outlined the salient features of the budget.
“The budget is all inclusive with an aim of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’. We have provisions for health, education, agriculture, strengthening of infrastructure in hill areas, betterment of basic facilities in the remote areas of the state, enhancing the living standard of women and almost every aspect of life in our state,” Agarwal said.
The proposed Rs 65,571.49 crore budget includes Rs 49,013.31 crore of revenue expenditure and Rs 16,558.18 crore of capital expenditure.
Out of the total budget, the highest allocation of Rs 1,500 crores was proposed for the pensions of the old, widows who had no one to depend on, abandoned women, differently-abled and economically weak farmers.
A sum of Rs 17,350.21 crore has been allocated for the salaries and allowances of state government employees. Rs 6,703.10 crore have been earmarked for the pensions and another Rs 6,017.85 crore is allotted for payment of interests.
With an aim to improve the gender ratio, the state government proposed Rs 500 crores for Nanda Gaura Yojana, under which the government seeks to pay Rs 51,000 to the parents of a girl-child in seven instalments.
The state government proposed Rs 300 crore for the Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana, Rs 311.76 crore for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (rural), Rs 205 crore for Smart City Yojana, Rs 112.38 crore for Rashtriya Gramin Ajivika Mission and Rs 105.41 crore for Deendayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana.
While Rs 25 crores have been earmarked to stop migration from the hills, Rs 20 crores are allocated for the development of the border areas.
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Focussing on education for all, the budget proposed a sum of Rs 12.29 crores for setting up Atal Utkrisht Vidyalayas for the children from weaker sections. The budget also allotted Rs 15 crore for building sheds to shelter stray cows.
Earlier in the day, the budget session of the Uttarakhand State Legislative Assembly witnessed a ruckus by the opposition alleging that the state government is ‘dodging’ the questions asked by the members of the state assembly.
Speaker Ritu Bhushan Kahnduri adjourned the House till 3 pm.
Replying to the queries related to the alleged irregularities, and corruption in issuing ration cards, state cabinet minister Rekha Arya assured the House that the government is working towards regularising the process without any loopholes.
“More than 60,000 ration cards have been surrendered to date. The drive will continue till the deserving gets the ration cards,” added the minister.
After the budget speech, opposition leader Yashpal Arya raised the issue of not organising the budget session in the Hairaan assembly of the Chamoli district.
Arya accused the government of negligence toward the Gairsain assembly and the hill areas of Uttarakhand. “It was the government of the Congress party which built the Gairsain assembly. The BJP government has totally forgotten about the motto behind Uttarakhand state,” Arya said.