Gujarat Finance Minister Kanu Desai on Friday at the State Budget presented budget where he announced that there will be no new tax imposed. The budget outlay for this year is at Rs 3.01 lakh crore, up by Rs 57,056.89 crore in allocations, which is a 23.38 per cent hike from last year.
The budget has also seen an unprecedented rise in capital expenditure of Rs 34,457 crore, which is 91 per cent more than the previous year. According to the state estimate, revenue receipts are expected to be Rs 2,07,709.88 crore and revenue expenditures are likely to be Rs 1,98,671.58 crore.
The plan for rapid development in Gujarat stands on five pillars: basic amenities and social security for the poor and needy, the development of human resources, the creation of world-class infrastructure, boosting economic activities in agriculture, industry, and service sectors, and green growth, said the finance minister when he was presenting the budget.
In his Budget speech, Desai said, "In this Amrit Kaal, this Budget will certainly help determine the direction of the state's development over the next 25 years and will also contribute towards the making of a developed India."
For the coming fiscal year, the state government has allocated Rs 5,580 crore for social welfare and the justice department; Rs 43,615 crore for education; Rs 3,410 crore for tribal development, and Rs 2,538 crore for employment and skill development.
Ujjwala Yojana
Talking about the Ujjwala Yojana Gujarat FM Desai said that the government will provide two cooking gas cylinders free of cost every year to 39 lakh families under the Ujjwala Yojana.
Infrastructure
In this year’s budget, the government announced Rs 5 lakh crore for the development of infrastructure facilities over the next five years. FM Kanu Desai announced Rs 2,808 crore for the development of roads under the Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
The government also announced it would spend Rs 1,066 crore to provide houses to around 1 lakh people under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) during the next year. Gujarat's Finance Minister also announced that five highways will be developed in Gujarat as high-speed corridors at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore.
The government has assigned Rs 18,000 crore to the Ahmedabad Metro Phase-II, and for the development of airports and airstrips, it has allocated Rs 215 crore. The government, under the PM Gati Shakti Plan, has also made a provision of Rs 200 crore, which covers equity contributions to the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train Project.
Finance Minister Desai allocated Rs 24 crore for the purchase of 50 more electric buses.
Urban development
To meet the aspirations and basic necessities of the state's urbanites, the state government has set aside Rs 19,685 crore for the urban development department, which will carry out developmental projects.
Insurance Limit
The Gujarat government has proposed to double the annual insurance limit to Rs 10 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya-MA scheme for eligible families.
Workers
Gujarat finance minister in this budget announced Rs 565 crores for various works at Ekta Nagar.
Development of poor people
The Gujarat government is planning to spend Rs 2 lakh crore in the next five years for the betterment of poor people, said Gujarat Finance Minister Kanu Desai. With over 71 lakh ration card holders under the NFSA scheme, the state government has allocated Rs 671 crore to provide them with food free of cost or at a subsidized rate. The total budget allocation for foods, civil supplies, and consumer affairs will be Rs 2,165 crore.
Sports
The youth, sports, and cultural activities department has been assigned Rs 567 crore, and the government also plans to set up sports complexes in each district and taluka of the state.
Water Resource
In this budget, the government assigned Rs 9,705 crores to the Water Resources Department.
Cyber Crime
The government in this budget has also proposed to start Cyber Crime Nathva Crime Police Station in 15 districts for which it allocated Rs 115 crore.
Health and Welfare Department
The health care department has received an outlay of Rs 15,182 crore, with Rs 55 crore for the expansion of the ambulance network. In addition to setting up five new nursing colleges in the state, the government is also going to invest in new medical colleges that are coming up in a public-private partnership pattern.
CNG, petrol and electricity prices
The allocation for the power and petrochemical sectors is Rs 8,738 crore, and while presenting the budget, FM Desai said that CNG and PNG will be cheaper, while the electricity charges will be changed in the future. He also added that provisions have been made to provide electricity to the farmers during the day. However when the implementation will be done was not mentioned during the budget.
The government has allocated an additional Rs 100 crore to provide Vijbill Protsahan Nidhi to assist municipalities in paying electricity bills. While the industry and mining were allocated Rs 8,589 crore.
Taxes
"During the pandemic, we had given relief to various sections of the society to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore by reducing various taxes," he said.
The government will not be imposing any new taxes and the present taxes will remain unchanged, said Gujarat FM at the assembly. This comes after the Haryana government also decided to go ahead with the same taxes and not make any changes there.
With input from agencies
