WB presents populist budget, allocates Rs 5150 cr for social

Resorting to populism and giving a fresh impetus to employment generation, the West Bengal government on Monday announced the setting up of 100 MSME parks in the state in the next three years and proposed free electricity to those with quarterly consumption of upto 75 units in its budget for 2020-21. Finance Minister Amit Mitra presented the budget for 2020-21 which has an outlay of Rs 2,55,677 with limited deficit of Rs eight crore.

This is the last full budget of the TMC government in the state ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls in the state, where BJP has made deep inroads in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. With an eye on the Assembly election and the upcoming election in 107 civic bodies, the budget gave sops primarily to the social sector and reached out to the backward sections of the state.

The budget made an allocation of Rs 5150 crore for 2020-21, primarily targetting the social sectors and also for creating employment in the MSMEs. In his budget speech, state Finance Minister Amit Mitra claimed that while various economic indices of the country are down, West Bengal is surging ahead in terms of GSDP growth and other yardsticks.

He said that the state government has made allocations for opening new universities, welfare of the aged belonging to SC and ST categories, for workers in the unorganised sector, the MSME sector and assistance to the unemployed youth and tea garden workers. Allocations have also been made for providing free electricity to the poor and assistance for getting government services. The minister said Rs 5150 crore has been allocated for the next financial year for these.

According to the budget the state has been able to generate 9.11 lakh employment opportunities in the current financial year. For 2020-21 the state government has projected tax revenue receipts of Rs 70,807 crore against the revised estimate of Rs 65,806 crore in 2019-20.

The government has also proposed dispute settlement schemes with respect to VAT, CST, entry tax, settlement of disputes under Motor Vehicles Act, waiver of interest on outstanding stamp duty and reduction of stamp duty on amalgamation of adjacent plots. Later, addressing a post budget press conference along with Mitra, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hailed it as a "pro people budget" prepared while keeping in mind all sections of the people.

Banerjee said the central government has denied the state government Rs one lakh crore in various segments. She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government to work together with opposition parties and refrain from the "politics of vendetta" to revive the economy.

Banerjee referred to the recent comments by RBI on the state of the economy and said the union government should look after it instead of being busy in the "politics of hatred". "Whatever RBI is saying is a sensitive matter. The union government should look after the economy, instead of being busy in the politics of hatred. The prime minister should take everybody along, if needed hold discussions with opposition parties," she said.

Everybody should work together to improve the country's economic condition, the chief minister added..