Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel presented the annual budget of ₹1,04,000 crore for the financial year 2022-23 in the state legislative assembly on Wednesday reinstating the old pension scheme for state government staff and raising yearly MLA local area development fund from ₹2 crore to ₹4 crore, among other announcements.
Chhattisgarh is the second state after Rajasthan to announce restoration of the old pension scheme, which is now being demanded in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Telangana. All states, except West Bengal, had opted for new pension scheme from April 1, 2004. He said the old pension scheme will be restored from April 1, 2022.
Baghel also waived off the examination fees for Chhattisgarh domicile applicants in all professional examinations conducted by the Chhattisgarh Professional Examination Board (CG VYAPAM) and the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission. There is no new tax proposal for 2022-23, the chief minister said.
Baghel said that the budget focused on farmers, landless agricultural labourers, economically weaker sections, economic progress of the villages, new dimensions of quality and progress in education, strengthening of health and medical facilities, welfare of all communities, all-round development of women and children, creation of new opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship for the youth and securing future of government employees/servants.
“I am happy and satisfied that during the last three years our government took steps towards fulfilling the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi. We have done what we had said about our heritage and development plans. We have taken many steps for establishing village-centric economy and now the Chhattisgarh model of development has got recognition in the country,” Baghel said.
{{/usCountry}}“I am happy and satisfied that during the last three years our government took steps towards fulfilling the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi. We have done what we had said about our heritage and development plans. We have taken many steps for establishing village-centric economy and now the Chhattisgarh model of development has got recognition in the country,” Baghel said.
{{/usCountry}}Baghel said that provision has been made to return 30,439 hectares of land in Bastar region to revenue head after a joint survey under non-forest area, out of classified orange regions. “After returning the orange land to the revenue head, we will ensure easy availability of land for setting up of new industries, construction of government buildings, development of road and rail routes and other activities,” Baghel said.
The annual assistance for landless labourers under the Rajiv Gandhi Bhumihin Krishi Majdur Nyay Yojana has been increased from ₹6,000 to ₹7,000 per annum from the next year, he added.
Taking into consideration the age-old demand of the government officers and employees of the state, the old pension scheme will be restored in place of the new pension scheme (NPS), he added.
The funds allocated to MLAs, Jila and Janpad panchayat representatives have been increased for carrying out development activities through public representatives.
The MLA fund will be increased from ₹2 crore to ₹4 crore for which a provision of ₹364 crore has been made.
“Now the government will be giving ₹15 lakh for president of Zila Panchayat, ₹10 lakh for vice-president and ₹4 lakh per annum for each member as annual funds. The government also increased the allowance of sarpanch from ₹2,000 to ₹4,000 and that of panch from ₹200 to ₹500 per month,” Baghel said.
“A total of 1.35 lakh students have taken admission in 171 Swami Atmanand English Medium Schools of Excellence. We have decided to start Swami Atmanand Vidyalaya in Hindi medium next year. The government will also upgrade 11 pre-secondary schools to high schools and 12 high schools to higher secondary schools. Provision of ₹50 crore has been made for construction of new buildings for 40 high schools without buildings and 17 higher secondary schools,” he said.
The budget also has a provision of ₹6,638 crore for the Public Works Department.
“Provision of ₹228 crore for construction of state roads, ₹458 crore for construction of main district roads, ₹810 crore for construction of rural roads, ₹315 crore for construction of major and medium bridges and ₹90 crore for construction of railway over bridges have been made in the budget this year,” Baghel said.
The net expenditure after deduction of repayment of loans and of recoveries from gross expenditure is estimated at ₹1,04,000 crores. The revenue expenditure is ₹88,372 crore and the capital expenditure is ₹15,241 crore, which is 14.6 percent of the total expenditure, he said
The budget estimate of total receipts in the year 2022-23 is ₹1,04,000 crore, which is 7% more than the estimated budget receipts of the previous fiscal. Out of the total receipts, the state’s revenue receipts are estimated at ₹44,500 crore, the receipts from the Centre are estimated at ₹44,573 crore and the capital receipts are estimated at ₹14,927 crore.
The gross fiscal deficit of the state is estimated at ₹14,600 crore, which is 3.3 % of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Total Revenue surplus of ₹702 crore is estimated in the year 2022-23, he said.