Budget 2020-21: 'Nirogi Rajasthan', farmer welfare top priorities for Rajasthan govt

The Rajasthan government in its Budget 2020-21 proposed a Rs 100-crore 'Nirogi Rajasthan' fund for healthcare, an authority to run a campaign against adulteration and 'no-bag day' in all government schools on Saturdays, among others. In the Budget presented on Thursday in the Assembly, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who also holds the finance portfolio, imposed no new tax and gave a total relief worth over Rs 130 crore by making announcements such as relief in stamp duty on land patta, exemption of stamp duty on transfer of properties by sick MSMEs.

Estimated revenue receipts in the Budget for 2020-21 stood at Rs 1,73,404.42 crore, estimated revenue expenditure was 1,85,750.03 crore and estimated revenue deficit Rs 12,345.61 crore, whereas the estimated fiscal deficit stood at Rs 33,922.77 crore, which is 2.99 percent of the gross state domestic product. In the Budget Speech, Gehlot said the Budget was prepared on seven resolutions including 'Nirogi Rajasthan', prosperous farmer, women, child welfare and education.

He also added that efforts have been made to ensure that development is not interrupted in the state despite various challenges. Gehlot also announced to set up a board of investment for granting approvals to investment proposals on a 'one-stop-shop' pattern, a Nehru Child Protection Fund for ensuring child rights and to check activities like human trafficking and child labor, and take strict action for adulteration and set up fast-track courts for this.

In order to promote sports, the chief minister announced to organize block- and district-level sports events and to increase the prize amount for those winning gold, silver and bronze medals in Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth games and hire 500 coaches to prepare players of international level. He announced to increase the prize amount for a gold medallist in Olympic Games from the current Rs 75 lakh to 3 crore; for a silver medallist, the amount was increased from the current Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore; and from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore for a bronze medallist.

Similarly, for the Asian and Commonwealth Games, the chief minister announced to raise the prize amount from the current Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore for a gold medallist, from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 60 lakh for a silver medallist, and from the current Rs 10 lakh to 30 lakh for a bronze medallist. Announcing 'no-bag day' in all government schools on Saturdays, the chief minister said cultural, sports, happiness therapy, scout and other activities will be conducted on Saturdays.

Expressing concern over deaths in road accidents, he said it will be mandatory for private hospitals to treat those injured in such cases, and if the treatment is denied, action will be taken against the hospital. Referring to steps taken by Tamil Nadu to curb deaths in road accidents, Gehlot said a road map will be prepared to bring down the number of such fatalities, and a committee headed by the chief minister will be set up to review the situation.

He also announced to give the Chief Minister Road Safety Prize to three districts of the state. In the agriculture sector, the chief minister announced to increase the area under date farming to 1,500 hectares in the next four years and made a provision of Rs 91 crore for micro-irrigation facility.

In the energy sector, Gehlot announced to implement the rooftop solar system on a large scale in the state to promote renewable energy and every district headquarter and identified urban areas will be developed as 'green energy city'. The Budget also proposed to increase dearness allowance from 12 percent to 17 percent effective from July 2019 for the state employees and recruitment for about 53,000 posts.

In tax proposals, Gehlot announced that stamp duty on land patta issued by the state government and local bodies will be calculated on the amount taken for patta instead of district lease committee (DLC) rates or market price. He also announced to exempt transfer of properties by sick MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) from stamp duty. To give relief to the real estate sector, he proposed to decrease DLC rates by 10 percent.

He said most of the financial indicators show that the economy is currently going through a tough phase. In the post-Budget press conference, the chief minister said the Budget was prepared on priorities like women, social security, youth, and farmers.

Targeting the central government on the issue of the economy, the senior leader said the Centre was not focusing on strengthening the economy despite concerns by World Bank, International Monetary Fund and several economists. "The government is not focused on strengthening the economy which is sinking. There is immense carelessness on this issue," he said.

Referring to NSSO figures on unemployment, the chief minister said the unemployment was at a 45-year peak at 6.1 percent in 2017-18 and alleged that the Government of India did not reveal it because of general elections last year. Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee President, Sachin Pilot, said that public welfare announcements have been made in the Budget.

"The Budget is dedicated to the overall development of the state in which announcements were made keeping infrastructure development along with farmers, women, youth and all sections at the center of it," Pilot said in a statement. On the other hand, the Opposition BJP criticized the Budget saying it was just "a routine Budget" of the "routine government" and was an example of the state government's poor financial management.

"Power companies are reeling under losses. There is no relief to people in the Budget. We are not able to see any development in the Budget," Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria said at a press conference here. Kataria said the state government is earning Rs 21,000 crore through value-added tax only, which is the highest among all the states, and despite that, there is no word about development in the Budget. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)