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Pune reacts to Union budget: Guardian minister Ajit Pawar unhappy; healthcare sector satisfied
The budget had no special allocation for Maharashtra or Pune
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced the budget for 2020 – 21.
Civic Infra
Emoji: Sad
-Rs 17,482 crore for overall metro projects in the country
-Rs13,750 crore for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) and Smart City Mission
The budget had no special allocation for Maharashtra or Pune. The government has not done justice to Maharashtra which is the highest revenue earning state in the country. The Centre gave 20 per cent capital for transport projects in Bengaluru, but there was no mention of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
Ajit Pawar, deputy CM and Pune guardian minister
The central government’s Smart City scheme is a complete flop. The scheme was implemented in Pune, but nothing great was achieved from it. Despite this, Rs 13,000 crore was allocated to this scheme and the finance minister announced that five more Smart Cities will come up.
Mohon Joshi, Congress leader
All the provisions mentioned in the budget are a welcome move. Now, more passengers will travel through air, due to various provisions. As the government increased the insurance cover up to Rs 5 lakh through deposits in banks, from the earlier Rs 1 lakh, it will help strengthen the cooperative sector.
Girish Bapat, BJP MLA
Pune reacts to Union budget: Healthcare will now be accessible and equitable, say city doctors
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced an outlay of about Rs 69,000 crore for the health sector in the 2020-2021 fiscal, with Rs 6,400 crore earmarked for the Centre’s flagship health insurance scheme, Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).
While presenting the Union budget 2020-21 in the Parliament, Sitharaman said that presently, under PMJAY there are more than 20,000 empanelled hospitals.
Dr Sunil Rao, chief operating officer, Sahyadri Hospitals, Pune, said, “The increase in allocation is a welcome move. The finance minister announced that the expansion will be done by setting up more hospitals in the tier-II and III cities under the public-private-partnership (PPP) route. Proceeds from taxes on medical devices would be used for development of hospitals. The government will provide viability gap funding for the process. This will be a boon for patients in smaller cities and rural areas. This announcement will also help develop the much needed infrastructure in far-flung areas and encourage private participation.”
Dr Rajesh Kapse, chief executive officer, HV Desai Eye Hospital, said that the increase in allocation of healthcare budget will be beneficial to the people at large. “The expansion of Ayushman Bharat scheme will be a boon for the patients from the economically weaker sections of the society and will be a definite step in the direction of making health care accessible and equitable” he said.
