RANCHI: At a time when the impact of freebies on the national economy is being debated, Jharkhand's spending estimates on "freebies" for FY 2025-26 exceed the budget allocations for all other departments, including Health, Education, and Rural Development.
Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore on Monday tabled the annual Budget of Rs 1, 45,400 crore for FY 2025-26 in the Jharkhand Assembly, an up of about 13 per cent than last year.
The state government made a significant allocation in its annual state budget for the "Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojna" (JMMSY) and free electricity scheme.
Maiyan Samman Yojna, Hemant Soren govenrment’s flagship program under which women between the age group of 18-49 gets Rs 2500 every month, has been allocated the lion's share of Rs 13,363.35 crore while Rs 5,005.9 crore has been allocated for the Free Electricity.
If we look at it in terms of percentage, allocation for Maiyan Samman Yojana is 9.19 per cent of the total budget, while Free Electricity scheme has been allocated 3. 44 per cent; both the schemes sum up to 12.63 per cent of the total budget. On the other hand, major departments that accelerate development in the State have been given less allocation than the two schemes combined.
Rural Development Department has been allocated only 11.39 per cent of the total allocation. Meanwhile, Health and Drinking Water has been allocated only 8.38 per cent of the total budget.
Agriculture and Allied Sector, including Water Resources has been allocated 4.71 per cent, Road and Transport were allocated 4.27 per cent, Police and Disaster Management were allocated 6.82 per cent; Land Revenue, Labour, Tourism, IT and others have been allocated 6.82 per cent of the total budget.
Kishore presented the budget in the state assembly, outlining major allocations for welfare schemes, infrastructure, and economic growth. The Finance Minister said the state's economy is expected to grow at a rate of 7.5 per cent in the financial year 2025-26.
According to the Finance Minister, for the last 24 years priority was given to the infrastructure, but the state government this time has given priority to the social sector.
“To build a strong and capable society, our government is committed to empowering women financially, socially, and mentally. This scheme will provide direct financial support, ensuring their independence and development,” said the finance minister. The fiscal deficit in the budget for the coming financial year is estimated to be Rs 11.253 crore, he added.
“A provision of Rs 62,844 crore has been made in the budget for the social sector and Rs 13,363 crore for the Maiya Samman Yojana for women. This budget will fulfill the aspirations of every section of the society including the poor, farmers, tribals and women,” said the finance minister.
Before reaching the assembly, Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore met Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar at Raj Bhavan and handed over copy of the budget for the financial year 2025-26. After giving a copy of the budget to the Governor, the Finance Minister reached assembly and tabled the budget.
The previous JMM-led coalition government had presented a budget of Rs 1.28 lakh crore for the financial year 2024-25.