MP govt presents Rs 3.14 lakh crore Budget; announces Rs 8,000 crore for new women welfare scheme in poll year
The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday presented a Rs 3.14 lakh crore Budget for 2023-24 with a provision of Rs 8,000 crore for the ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana’, a new scheme to be rolled out for the welfare of women in the state where the Assembly polls are due this year-end.
A new scheme named ‘Mukhyamantri Balika Scooty Yojana’ to provide e-scooters to the girls securing first class in Class 12 examination is also announced in the budget.
No new taxes were announced in the budget that was presented by Finance Minister Jadgish Devda in the Assembly. He described it as the ”budget of the public”. Devda presented the budgetary outlay for fiscal 2023-24 in the House and began his speech by chanting ‘shlokas’ (hymns) praying to Lord Mahakaleshwar, one of the 12 ‘jyotirlingas’ in the country located in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. During the budget presentation, members of opposition Congress created a ruckus and staged a walkout over the hike in cooking gas prices by the Centre. Devda announced a provision of Rs 8,000 crore for the Mukhkyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana, a flagship scheme of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. This scheme will be rolled out in the state from March 5. Under it, women will be given Rs 1,000 assistance per month with certain riders, including that they are not Income Tax payee, a government official said.
Devda said the budget has a provision of Rs 36,950.16 crore for Scheduled Tribes (sub-scheme), Rs 2,60,86.81 crore for Scheduled Castes (sub-scheme), Rs 11,406 crore for the establishment of government primary schools, and Rs 7,332 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission under the National Rural Drinking Water Mission.
The budget of ST sub schemes is 37 per cent more than the last fiscal. Besides, there is a provision of Rs 6,935 crore for assistance to carry out reforms required as per the 15th Finance Commission (report), and Rs 6,728 crore for middle schools, he said.
”There is a provision of total appropriation amounting to Rs 3,14,024.84 crore, which is 13 per cent more than the previous year, and total net expenditure of Rs 2,81,553.62 crore,” he said, adding that Rs 102,976 crore have been allocated for the schemes related to women welfare. While presenting the government’s first ”e-budget” (in a paperless format), Devda said that MP’s contribution to the country’s GDP has increased to 4.5 per cent from 3.8 per cent in the past 10 years.
The minister also announced that the MP government will issue the ”social impact bonds” of Rs 1,000 crore for the welfare schemes meant for senior citizens, physically challenged and destitute, and a provision of an outcome fund of Rs 100 crore has been made for the next fiscal in this budget.
He said 1,000 government vehicles would be taken off road under the central government vehicle scrappage scheme to promote use of electronic vehicles.
The renewable energy production has gone up by 12 times in the past 10 years in the state, he added. A capital expenditure of Rs 56,256 crore, which is 15 per cent more than the last FY, is also proposed in the budget, the minister said.
”The ‘aatmanirbhar’ budget has been prepared in a mission mode, keeping in view the objective of the self-sufficient Madhya Pradesh,” he said.
The budget has a revenue surplus of Rs 412.76 crore and the fiscal deficit is estimated at 4.02 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product.
”The estimated revenue receipts are Rs 2,25,709.90 crore, which include the state’s own tax amount of Rs 86,499.98 crore, state’s share of central taxes of Rs 80,183.67 crore, non-tax revenue of Rs 14,913.10 crore and grants-in-aid received from the Centre of Rs 44,113.15 crore,” the minister said. The budgetary allocation for sports for FY 2023-24 has been more than doubled as compared to previous year, he said, adding that Rs 38,375 crore have been allocated for education, which is Rs 5,532 crore more than the last year.
Rs 53,964 crore have been allocated for agriculture and related sectors, while Rs 18,302 crore for the energy sector, Devda said.
Talking to reporters after presenting the budget, Devda and Finance Department officials said the loan taken by the state is likely to increase to Rs 3.85 lakh crore by the end of the next financial year.
By the end of the current financial year, the loan taken by the government is likely to stand at Rs 3.31 lakh crore, they said, adding that this is under the FRBM norms.
Asked about the state government’s stand to bring petrol and diesel under the purview of GST, he said no decision has been taken on it yet. During his budget speech, the Congress members kept interrupting him.
The Congress legislators, including former ministers Tarun Bhanot, Vijay Laxmi Sadho and others, created a ruckus in the House over the LPG price hike issue as soon as Devda started reading out the budget. Later, these MLAs led by former chief minister Kamal Nath staged a walkout from the House.
Bhanot demanded that the Madhya Pradesh government provide LPG cylinders at Rs 500 each (to people below poverty line).
In the morning, Congress members staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the Assembly premises on LPG price hike.
Nath hit out at the state government, calling it a ”false budget of the false government”.
”Except election announcements, which are misleading, it contains nothing,” he alleged. Only 55 per cent of the benefits of the announcements made in the last budget actually reached people. The number of the unemployed youths in the state has gone up to one crore this year, he claimed. CM Chouhan, however, said, ”Keeping in mind the welfare of every section of the society, this budget is filled with the energy to realise the resolutions of a developed and self-reliant Madhya Pradesh for a glorious, glorious, prosperous India as per the dreams of PM Narendra Modi.”
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