SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh Congress government, led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, presented a budget of Rs 53,413 crore for 2023–24 on Friday, March 17. The budget focuses on harnessing renewable energy, bolstering the state's important agriculture and horticulture sectors, empowering women, and promising to create 90,000 jobs.
The finance portfolio holder Thakur did not propose any additional levies in the populist but deficit-ridden budget. "The state's first-ever "green budget" is shown here. By March 2026, efforts would be made to transform the state into a "Green Energy State," "He announced this during his lengthy, two-hour speech in Hindi.
The Chief Minister reacehd an electric car in the Vidhan Sabha, formerly known as the Council Chamber and inaugurated by Lord Reading on August 27, 1925, before presenting the paperless budget.
Thakur started a new trend by thoroughly describing in his speech how the budgetary provision will contribute to the motto of "good administration with excellent governance." Thakur also brought the speech to life by including poetry and quotations from well-known Hindi authors.
Even the Finance Minister didn't miss a chance to poke fun at the opposition in his poem, which was well received. "We have inherited a massive debt and a liability of nearly Rs 10,000 crore on account of arrears of pay of employees and pensioners and dearness allowance from the previous government," in reference to the vulnerable financial position of the hill state. Every resident in Himachal Pradesh now owes a debt of Rs 92,833 as a result of the previous administration's policies. The state's budgetary resources have suffered as a result of the GST compensation's termination after June 2022, He said.
"The state's financial situation will suffer as a result in the upcoming years. The central government's Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) will drop from Rs 9,377 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 3,257 crore in 2025–26. "Despite these difficulties, a negative impact on the state's rate of development will not be tolerated." He assured the state's citizens that the administration will work tirelessly to implement the development policies outlined in the Congress election manifesto and that it will be used as a guideline for the state's growth, he said.
The state's residents have stated their complete confidence in the Congress' election platform and their determination to uphold all promises. Speaking about the party's election pledge, Thakur said the administration had promised to reinstate the Old Pension Plan (OPS) as soon as it took office.
"This decision will benefit almost 1.36 lakh employees. The Cabinet has previously adopted a resolution urging the Indian government to restore the approximately Rs 8,000 crore deposited with it as part of the NPS (National Pension Plan)." According to a trusted Chief Minister, effective actions would be done to transform the state into a "Green Energy State" by March 31, 2026, with an estimated state growth rate of 6.4%, per capita income of Rs 2,22,227 and a growth rate of 10.4% over the previous year. "In order to achieve this goal, steps will be done to utilise solar energy in addition to hydropower. In 2023–2024, 500 MW of brand-new solar energy projects are expected to begin construction.
"On a pilot basis, two panchayats in each district will be transformed into green panchayats. These panchayats will host solar power plants with capacities ranging from 500 KW to 1 MW. To improve Pangi's power supply system, a solar power-based battery energy storage system project will be installed." He declared that young people would receive a 40% subsidy to build solar power plants on their own or rented property with a capacity ranging from 250 KW to 2 MW.
"The state power board will buy the electricity produced by these projects. Our administration has also declared that Himachal Pradesh will be developed as a "Model State for Electric Vehicles" with a purpose to make Himachal Pradesh a "Green State". "The use of electric vehicles will be promoted gradually to cut carbon emissions, with the help of the public and commercial sectors. National and state roadways would be created as a Green Corridor for electric vehicles in the initial phase.
The Chief Minister stated that in the upcoming years, emphasis would be placed on replacing the majority of diesel buses operated by the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) with e-buses in order to promote green hydrogen.
He claimed that the overall revenue receipts for 2022–23 are Rs 38,945 crore according to the updated estimations. The overall revenue expenditure is projected to be Rs 45,115 crore based on the updated forecasts for 2022–2023. Similarly, the income gap is projected to be Rs 6,170 crore according to the updated forecasts for 2022–2023.
The expected income receipts for 2023–2024 are Rs. 37,999 crore, and the estimated revenue expenditures are Rs. 42,704 crore. "As a result, the expected overall revenue deficit is Rs 4,704 crore. The expected fiscal deficit is Rs 9,900 crore, or 4.61 percent of the gross state domestic product "He clarified.
For every 100 rupees spent, Rs 26 will go towards wage, Rs 16 towards pension, Rs 10 towards interest payments, Rs 10 towards loan repayment, Rs 9 towards grants for autonomous institutions, and Rs 29 will go towards other expenses, such as capital improvements. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) workers' daily wage would increase by Rs 28 under a budget provision that will benefit nine lakh workers. The state government will bear an additional Rs 100 crore in costs as a result, he added.
The Chief Minister pledged to take decisive action to halt drug trafficking and apprehend offenders. "We will seize any illegal property obtained through narcotics trafficking." Liquor sold in the state will be subject to a cess of Rs 10 per bottle, generating an annual revenue of Rs 100 crore. According to him, the charge would be applied to boost milk production in order to raise milk producers' income.
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