Maharashtra: Sops heavy budget with eye on polls

In election mode the Mahayuti government came out with a supplementary budget with sops and welfare schemes for various sections of society which could impact the electoral outcome on Friday Finance minister Ajit Pawar who represented the joint approach of the threeparty government announced an electricity bill waiver for farmers the Madhya Pradeshlike Ladki Bahin beloved sister scheme for women and a training programme for 10 lakh youth under which they will get a monthly stipend of Rs 10000 among many other benefit schemesThe budget showed a revenue deficit of Rs 20051 crore and fiscal deficit of Rs 110355 crore It projected revenue receipts of Rs 499463 crore and revenue expenditure of Rs 519514 croreMumbai fuel prices cutThe valueadded tax on diesel and petrol in the Mumbai Thane and Navi Mumbai municipal limits was reduced to bring prices on a par with the rest of Maharashtra The price of petrol per litre in the areas of these municipal corporations will be cheaper by approximately 65 paise and that of diesel by approximately Rs 207 per litre said PawarldquoIt is essential to bring uniformity in the valueadded tax on diesel and petrol to provide relief to the common citizens as well as the industry and trade sectors Hence it is proposed to reduce the current tax on diesel from 24 per cent to 21 per cent in the areas of municipal corporations of Brihanmumbai Thane and Navi Mumbai Also the current tax rate on petrol is 26 per cent plus Rs 5 and twelve paise per litre which is now proposed to be reduced to 25 per cent plus R5 and twelve paise per litre he addedFor womenThe CMs Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana will give eligible women between 21 and 60 years of ageRs 1500 per month The annual outlay is Rs 46000 crore every year The amount may increase later Shubh Mangal Samuhik Nondanikrut Vivah mass marriage schemersquos subsidy has been increased from Rs 10000 to Rs 25000 per bride For breast and cervical cancer screenings Rs 78 crore for equipment and materials will be given to all health subcentres Children and pregnant women will not be charged for using staterun ambulancesEligible households will be provided with direct financial help to buy three freeofcost LPG cylinders every year under the CMrsquos Annapurna Yojana The purpose is to save the women of 5216412 families the trouble of using conventional fuel for cooking About 10000 jobs will be created for women under the Aai Yojana Women entrepreneurs in the tourism sector will avail of interest reimbursement on loans up to Rs 15 lakhThe government has mooted a scheme to offer 100 per cent reimbursement of education fees and examination fees to other backward classes and economically weaker section girls The cap for family income is Rs 8 lakh This decision will benefit around 205499 girls and need Rs 2000 crore every yearFor farmersThe CMrsquos Baliraja Vij Savlat Yojana will provide free electricity to agriculture pumps up to 75 horsepower capacity The government will spend Rs 14761 crore on the subsidy which will benefit 4406 lakh farmersFarmers have been given compensation when their crop gets damaged due to natural calamities The limit for assistance has been increased to three hectares instead of two The aid will be given at a higher rate than the State Disaster Response Fund criterialdquoIn the ongoing farm loan waiver scheme 1433 lakh farmers who regularly repaid their crop loans have been paid Rs 5190 crore as an incentive and the rest of the amount will be distributed expeditiouslyrdquo said Pawar adding that every village will have a warehouse of its own in the future The DCM also announced R5000perhectare assistance to cotton and soybean farmers and a subsidy for onion producers Milk producers will continue to get a grant of Rs 5 per litre Compensation for those killed by wild animals has been increased from R20 lakh to R25 lakh Crop damage compensation has been increased from Rs 25000 to Rs 50000Irrigation projects in Vidarbha and western Maharashtra have been expedited ExCM Devendra Fadnavisrsquos flagship water conservation programme Jalayukt Shivar has been given Rs 650 croreFor youthThe CMrsquos Yuva Karyaprashikshan Yojana will train 10 lakh youths yearly and give them a stipend of up to Rs 10000 per month The government will provide Rs 10000 crore every year for this Various schemes for skill development will be taken up in association with the World BankCentres of Excellence will be created in technical education institutions in Mumbai Pune Nagpur Amravati Yavatmal Kolhapur Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Karad and Avasari Khurd in PuneMinority community students will get scholarships for foreign education from 202425 Accommodation allowance to students for higher education has been increased from Rs 38000 to Rs 60000For weaker sectionsMonthly aid under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudan Yojana and Shravanbal Seva Rajya Nivruttivetan Yojana has been increased from Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 Adequate provision of funds will be made for newly created as well as existing corporations for Divyang persons who have been given electric vehiclesPawar announced that the lsquothird genderrsquo option had been made available in the recruitment process by the government and public authorities ldquoThis will make it easier for the thirdgender community to take advantage of schemesrdquo he saidFor infrastructureOn the infrastructure front another 37 km of Metro rail length will be operational this financial yearThe SewriWorli link road project will be completed by the end of December 2025 while the 1345km Thane Coastal Road from Balkum to Gaimukh whose cost is Rs 3364 crore is expected to be completed by May 2028For heritage and tourismWorld Heritage Site status has been sought from UNESCO for 12 forts dating to the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Proposals will also be sent for Katal Shilpe in Konkan Pandharpur Wari Dahihandi Utsav and GaneshotsavThe government has decided to hold an annual Shivrajyabhishek Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajrsquos coronation ceremony at Raigad fortThe seasonal religious flavour was boosted with financial assistance of Rs 20000 for the main dindi procession that warkaris take to Pandharpur The annual celebration of the deity of masses Vithoba Vitthal has been sent to UNESCO for world heritage nomination said Pawar A separate corpus of Rs 37 crore was earmarked for the management of the wari that began this week from various placesA submarine project of international stature will be set up in Vengurla in Sindhudurg at an estimated cost of Rs 66 crore The Western Ghat area of Satara district will be made touristworthy with an integrated tourism development plan worth Rs 38156 crore Malshej Ghat will have a modern viewing galleryA plan will be prepared to develop temple premises at Nevasa where Saint Dnyaneshwar Maharaj had recited the immortal Dnyaneshwari A stateoftheart international convention centre will be set up near the Rajaram lake in Kolhapur cityOne exCM calls budget allinclusive another says itrsquos a carrotEknath Shinde chief ministerPeople Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray who say we have offered gaajar carrot should understand that this budget is the gajar declaration of Maharashtrarsquos development plan Uddhav Thackeray former chief ministerThey have offered a gaajar Where is the money to implement such announcements Voters shocked them in the recent elections because they were fed up with the false promises made over the past 10 yearsDevendra Fadnavis deputy chief ministerItrsquos not about elections as Thackeray has claimed itrsquos about our resolve to be progressive and allinclusive We have taken historic decisions which will be implemented The Oppositionrsquos reaction is stereotypicalJayant Patil exfinance ministerItrsquos an attempt to do charity ahead of the Assembly elections It is only for two months It will stop once the code of conduct comes into forceNana Patole state Congress chiefItrsquos a misleading budget that is full of bogus and hollow announcements The government has failed the farmers who wanted a Telanganalike loan waiver