JAIPUR: Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Diya Kumari presented the budget for 2025-26 in the state assembly on Wednesday and unveiled several key initiatives at greening the desert state.
The second budget of the BJP government led by Bhajan Lal Sharma is being called the ‘First Green budget’ of the state where a provision of over Rs 27,000 crore has been made under ‘Mission Hariyalo Rajasthan’. The ‘Green budget’ will see 10 crore saplings being planted under the mission.
Under a five-year Climate Change Adaptation Plan-2030, the FM announced the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Climate Change at a cost of Rs 150 crore. Provision of Rs 35 crore has been specially made for conducting ‘Green Audit’ in the state.
Additionally, nine Greenfield expressways will be constructed spanning 2,750km at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore. Also, a Green Technology Development Centre will be set up at a cost of Rs 250 crore. In another major step, over a dozen Clean and Green-Eco Cities will be developed in the next three years by creating a fund of Rs 900 crore.
Also, a Sustainable Development Goals Coordination and Acceleration Centre (SDGCAC) will soon be established. The FM also announced that Tradable Credits will be created by developing Rajasthan Green Credit Mechanism on the lines of Carbon Credit.
To boost employment among the youth, 1.25 L government jobs will be provided in the upcoming year. Through employment fairs and initiatives, 1.5 lakh private jobs would also be arranged for the youth under the Rajasthan Employment Policy 2025.
Under the new proposals in the energy sector, the state will give 5 lakh new domestic electricity connections and 5,000 power connections specifically for agricultural use. Eligible households will now get 150 units of free electricity, and solar panels will be installed in the beneficiaries’ homes.
