Mumbai: Months ahead of the assembly elections, Maharashtra Finance Minister Ajit Pawar presented an “additional” Budget Friday, which was full of populous announcements.
After the drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), did not seem to want to take any chances. From women to youth to elderly to farmers, the budget had something for every sector.
The government also announced a reduction in petrol and diesel prices in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) “to bring uniformity and provide relief to the common citizens as well as the industry and trade sectors”. The price of petrol per litre will be cheaper by approximately 65 paise and that of diesel by approximately Rs 2.07 per litre.
“This is a budget for everyone. Women, farmers, warkaris all find a mention in the budget. This government fulfills its promises. These schemes mentioned in the budget will be implemented,” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said while speaking to the media outside the assembly.
The Opposition called the budget a “populist” one. Former CM Uddhav Thackeray, who is part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), said he does not think people will believe any of the Shinde’s government’s “lies”.
“We all know that before the election, assurances are given. This budget is nothing short of that. It was just about big tall promises. It is a false narrative. There is no way of knowing how they would be implementing the budget, where the funds will come from,” said Thackeray.
He added: “In fact, as MVA, we demand that whatever they announced previously in the budgets, an expert committee should be formed and a white paper needs to be released before elections.”
Jayant Patil of NCP Sharad Pawar said: “They are sure they will lose in the upcoming election, hence this is a last desperate attempt by the government. This too will remain for about a couple of months before the model code of conduct kicks in. This is an irresponsible budget.”
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis told the media that the Opposition’s work is to oppose. “It is a stereotypical reaction. This is not a budget made keeping elections in mind but it is one of determination.”
The total outlay of expenditure is Rs 6,12,293 crore with a revenue deficit of Rs 20,051 crore. In February, the state government presented a Rs 6,00,522 crore interim budget.
Also Read: Union Budget is not corporate India’s wishlist. Tax breaks can’t solely drive profit
What’s in Budget for farmers, women, youth
Ajit Pawar started his budget speech by announcing several sops for the Warkari sect. The sect’s annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur temple of Lord Vitthal begins end-June.
Moreover, a proposal has been sent to UNESCO for the World Heritage nomination of Pandharpur wari, as well as health check-ups, free medication for all warkaris (commuters) on the main palkhi (palanquin) route from Dehu-Alandi to Pandharpur.
The government made quite a few ambitious announcements for the women in the state.
Under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 will be given to women between 21 to 60 years of age, for which Rs 46,000 crore will be set aside each year.
Under the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana, three gas cylinders will be given free per household per year and the government hopes that 52,16,412 families will be benefited.
“This is a very ambitious and important yojana. Women will directly get money into their accounts. Also, cooking gas is important. And because of this, the Opposition is on fire,” said CM Shinde.
Around 10,000 women in 17 cities will be given assistance to buy rickshaws and for that Rs 80 crore worth of funds will be set aside. Under the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme, Ajit Pawar said 15 lakh women benefitted and the government this year hopes to increase the number of beneficiaries to 25 lakh.
Girls from Other Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections with an annual family income up to Rs 8 lakh will get 100 percent reimbursement of fees for their higher studies.
The government has made big announcements for farmers in the budget. One of the reasons the Mahayuti lost many seats across rural Maharashtra is because of farm distress, especially in the onion belt of north Maharashtra and cotton belt of Vidarbha.
For cotton and soybean farmers, Rs 5,000 per hectare assistance in a limit of two hectares during Kharif season will be provided. A subsidy for onion farmers at the rate of Rs 350 per quintal for 2023-24 — for which Rs 851.66 crore will be set aside for the year — has also been announced. A revolving fund of Rs 200 crore each is being created for assured purchase of onion and cotton.
For dairy farmers, a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre will begin from July.
A new scheme called Atal Bambu Samriddhi Yojana was also announced by the state government, under which bamboo will be planted on wasteland on a large scale. Here, Ajit Pawar mentioned Nandurbar district, where planting of bamboo will take place on an area of 1.20 lakh acres. Farmers will get a subsidy of Rs 175 per plant.
A pilot solar power project at Mhaisal in Sangli district, with an estimated cost of Rs 1,594 crore, to benefit around 75,000 farmer families of Sangli and Solapur, was also announced.
Another key announcement by the Mahayuti government was that of uninterrupted electricity for farmers. The ‘Magel Tyala Solar Power Pump’ scheme is going to cost Rs 15,000 crore for a total 8.50 lakh beneficiaries.
To address the unemployment issue, the Mahayuti announced training for 10 lakh youth every year with a stipend up to Rs 10,000 per month. Various skill development programmes and the establishing of medical colleges were also announced for the youth.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also Read: Sanjay Raut pitches Uddhav as CM face for Maharashtra polls, MVA partners say will decide later