DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Finance Minister Prem Chand Agarwal presented a Budget of Rs 77,407.08 crore in the Gairsain Assembly on Wednesday, asserting that special attention would be on jobs, investment and tourism. “We are moving towards good governance,” said Agarwal. This year, the tiny hill state will host three major events of G-20, he added.
“The Budget has given special attention to the youth with the objective that they become ‘job givers.’ A provision of Rs 40,000 crore has been made for self-employment schemes.” This is the first full Budget of the Dhami government presented in Gairsain, the summer capital of the state.
While presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Agarwal said the state would be number one in the tourism sector. He described the government’s efforts to scale up the export of local products as the first priority of his government. He reiterated the need to make Uttarakhand corruption-free.
“The Budget is inclusive with special provisions for the youth, women, farmers and traders, labourers and employed people,” Agarwal said. “Efforts have been made to incorporate suggestions received from the public in the Budget announcements,” he said. “We need to accelerate the development of border villages. These villages bordering China and Nepal are facing a serious problem of migration.
The central government has started the ‘Vibrant Village Scheme’ to change the picture of such villages. At the state level, a blueprint of the CM’S Marginal Village Tourism Development Scheme is being prepared,” said the minister.
Before the Budget was presented in the House, Chif Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the government has made serious efforts to include public suggestions into the Budget. “The provisions focus on employment, investment and tourism,” he said.
State BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt welcomed the budget, saying it will pave the way for a self-reliant state. “It will create self-employment opportunities for the youth,” Bhatt said. “With its emphasis on self-employment, tourism, agriculture and women, the Budget will steer the state on the path of becoming a self-reliant and a leading state of this decade,” he said. Bhatt also expressed satisfaction over the allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for land subsidence-hit Joshimath. “By allocating Rs 1,000 crore for Joshimath, the state has again proved that it can do anything to bring relief to the affected people,” Bhatt said.
Major takeaways
Rs 1,000cr. for Joshimath landslide area
Rs 26.21 L crore for Science City and Science Centre
Rs 101cr. for Metro Rail in Dehradun
Rs 169cr. for children of poor people
Rs 100cr. provision for G-20 events
Rs 7,600cr. to be spent on pension
Rs 15 crore for Balika Cycle Scheme