PUDUCHERRY: Chief Minister V Narayanasamy presented budget for Rs 8,425 crores for the financial year 2019-20, on Wednesday at Puducherry assembly.
The fourth session of the fourteenth legislative assembly of the Union Territory of Puducherry started on Monday with Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi's address.
He has said that state planning commission has finalised Rs 8,425 crore for the financial year 2019-20. In this, state revenue is Rs 5,435 crores (65 percent), including centrally sponsored schemes, central assistance is Rs 1,890 crores (22 percent). It has been decided to collect fund through market borrowings and central finance companies for the remaining Rs 1,100 crores (13 percent).
"Major finance sources are spent for important expenses like salary, pension, loan repayment and interest. Among Rs 8,425 crores budget, Rs 1,896 crores (22 percentages) for salaries, Rs 930 crores (11 percent) for pensions, Rs 1,550 crores (18 percent) for loan and interest repayment, Rs 1,250 crores (15 percent) to buy electricity. Additional to that, for goverment and important expenses like old age pension and other welfare schemes, Rs 573 crores (7 percent) and for government undertaken organizations and co-opertative societies, as subsidy Rs 889 crores (11 percent) has been allotted." said Narayanasamy further.
Government is in a situation to pay Rs 500 crores loan department taken from market borrowings on 2009-10 financial year. It's an unavoidable financial burden, government will pay in time like they have paid back the loans in the past. Previous financial year, as per revised evaluation, budget amount is Rs 7,416 crores, which is 94.1 percentages of the actual budget. Since fund for central sponsored schemes given by central government at the end of financial years, especially in March, only 65.45 percentages was able to spent. He assured to take all the effort to spend the amount fully, allotted for this financial year.
Considering the needs of staffs and pensioners of PAPSCO, PASIC, Anglo French, Swadeshi and Bharathi mills, fund was given after solving the salary and pension issues. Action will be taken immediately, to fill the vacancies in government departments, through promotions and direct recruitments. He finally assured that his government will continuously take all kind of steps, to in increase the revenue of the Union Territory of Puducherry and get additional fund from central government by demanding them, despite of barriers.
Before that, AIADMK, NR Congress and BJP MLAs opposed speaker to conduct the budget session as they have filed no-trust motion against them. They sat in the centre of assembly hall, and raised slogans against speaker. Though speaker V P Sivakozhundhu warned them, they continued the protest while chief minister Narayanasamy was reading the budget. Based on speaker's order, assembly policemen clearer the opposition party MLAs.
After some time, based on government whip Anadharaman's request, speaker called the opposition party MLAs to assembly with condition that they shouldn't involve in any kind of activities affecting dignity of assembly, but no one turned up. Congress party state president cum PWD minister A Namachivayam, opposition leader N Rangasamy, NR Congress MLAs Sugumaran, and Gopika was not present for the budget session.