New Delhi: With an eye on the Chhattisgarh election this year, the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government has announced an allowance of Rs 2,500 per month for the unemployed youth in its Budget 2023-24 and floated the proposal to host an ‘International Ram Festival’.
It also announced a Nava Pilhar Yojana to assist transpersons in teaching-training and to prepare them for competitive employment exams.
No new tax was proposed by the government.
For the new scheme to provide a monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 2,500 to the educated unemployed, the Chhattisgarh government allocated a budget of Rs 250 crore.
Monthly honorarium for anganwadi workers was also increased from ₹6,500 per month to ₹10,000 per month. There was also a hike in the scholarship amount given to SC, ST and OBC students studying in hostels, ashrams and Prayas schools from ₹1,000 per month previously to ₹1,500 per month. Scholarship for post-matric hostel students was increased from Rs 700 to Rs 1,200.
The budget also proposes construction of a hostel in Kota, Rajasthan for the convenience of students who go there to study.
Presenting the 2023-2024 Budget in the Chhattisgarh assembly, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel called it the ‘budget of trust’. “This Budget is a strong step towards fulfilling the objectives included in the ‘Chhattisgarh model’ based on agriculture and rural economy,” said Baghel, who also holds the finance portfolio.
The Budget grew from Rs 1,04,000 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 1,21,500 crore in 2023-24. While the revenue expenditure is pegged at Rs 1,02,501 crore, the capital expenditure is Rs 18,660 crore. The estimated gross fiscal deficit for 2023-24 is Rs 15,200 crore.
The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for 2022-23 is estimated to grow at 8 per cent as compared to the previous financial year at constant prices. Compared to previous year, the per capita income is estimated to increase by 10.93 per cent to Rs 1.34 lakh in 2022-23.
Last year, the budget had made headlines as Baghel, who also holds the finance portfolio, carried the document in a briefcase made of gobar (cow dung) in a bid to promote his ‘Gobar Economy’ model. This year, the budget briefcase was painted with paint made from cow dung. It had the image of Chhattisgarhi Goddess Mahtari.
In his Budget, Baghel proposed a “light metro service” from Nava Raipur Atal Nagar to Durg.
Taking forward the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park Project, a major component of the government’s ‘Gobar Economy’ model, a provision of Rs 50 crore was set aside for industrial parks in urban areas.
Focus on Ram, Chhattisgarhi culture
Through his tenure, Baghel has claimed that Ram is an essential part of Chhattisgarhi culture, stating that his mother Kaushalya is from Chhattisgarh. As per the government, the only temple for Mata Kaushalya is in Chhattisgarh and it conducted a beautification and development project for the same. In the past, Baghel has said that Ram is a ‘bhancha’ (nephew) of the state.
The pre-poll budget takes this pitch forward. The government proposed to host an ‘International Ram Festival’ for which it allocated Rs 12 crore. Similarly, a provision of Rs 10 crore was made for a Kaushalya Mahotsav in Chandkhuri, where the Kaushalya temple is located.
The Bhupesh Baghel government also made a renewed push to propagate Chhattisgarhi culture in the rest of the country. About Rs 28 crore was allocated to fund a new Chhattisgarh Bhawan in Delhi. Construction of Chhattisgarh Jan Niwas Bhawans in pilgrimage sites across the country was also proposed. A provision of Rs 5 crore was also allocated to fund gram panchayats for the “dignified celebration of Chhattisgarhi festivals”.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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