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₹21,992-crore supplementary budget tabled by Maharashtra government; ₹1,000-crore for farmers
The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on the first day of the winter session on Monday tabled supplementary demands worth around ₹21,992 crore, in addition to the annual budget.
The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on the first day of the winter session on Monday tabled supplementary demands worth around ₹21,992 crore, in addition to the annual budget.
Of this, the notable expenditure of around ₹10,000 crore will be made for farmers. Of this ₹2,850 crore will be used for procuring paddy at minimum support price (MSP) and giving bonus to paddy growers, ₹2,211 crore to help farmers affected due to natural calamities, ₹2,000 crore for repairs and maintenance of roads and bridges and their constructions under hybrid annuity scheme, ₹1,000 crore for the state’s share of Prime Minister Crop Insurance scheme, ₹902 crore for National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and ₹877 crore for infrastructure development in municipal corporations and nagar parishads.
Supplementary budget refers to additional expenditure required for the year for unforeseen expenses over and above the annual budget.
During the monsoon session, the state government had sought ₹29,084 crore over and above the annual budgetary outlay.
The supplementary demands tabled by deputy chief and finance minister Ajit Pawar made a provision of ₹1,000 crore as financial aid to Maharashtra State Road Transportation Corporation (MSRTC) — a state-run corporation — to provide salary to their staff till the end of the financial year (March 2021).
Currently reeling with financial trouble, MSRTC needs ₹150 crore every month to pay salary to its staff. The amount of ₹1,000 crore will be used to provide salary from November to March whereas the remaining ₹150 crore will be given back to the state as the state had provided the amount from the state contingency fund to pay October salary to the staff, said an official, wishing not to be named.
It has earmarked ₹475 crore for the legislators for local area development (LAD) funds. Under Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) LAD scheme, each MLA gets funds of ₹3 crore a year for development works in his or her constituency. For the proposed memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mill Compound, ₹100 crore has been earmarked.
Further, it has allocated ₹39.72 crore for Shiv Bhojan Thali, a staple food scheme for the poor. Under the scheme, which is a pet project of the MVA government launched in January this year, the original cost of a thali is ₹10 but was reduced by half due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As part of its preparation for Covid-19 vaccination programme, the state government has sought ₹22 crore to store Covid-19 vaccine in air-conditioned facilities with negative pressure.
The state has been preparing to administer Covid-19 vaccine to around 3.25 crore people in three phases that includes health workers, frontline workers and citizens above the age of 50 years and those suffering with comorbidities.
It has also decided to allocate ₹50 crore as ex-gratia to be given to the families of police personnel who died after being infected with Covid-19. Similarly, the state revenue department has sought ₹5 crore to be given to the next of kin of the employees who died during Covid-19 pandemic.
The state government has also earmarked ₹3 crore as fees for the legal team representing it in the Supreme Court for Maratha reservation case, a politically sensitive subject for Maharashtra.
Day one of winter session sees several protests
The first day of the winter session of Maharashtra legislature saw a number of protests by Opposition leaders inside and outside Vidhan Bhavan premises. Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, along with other BJP legislators, held a sit-in protest on the staircase of the legislature building demanding adequate compensation for the farmers affected by floods.
Independent MLA Ravi Rana, too, held a protest by wearing a banner with a demand for giving adequate compensation to the agrarian community.
BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar, clad in a traditional attire of Dhangar community, tried to enter Vidhan Bhavan while beating a drum, but was denied entry. The BJP leader held a sit-in protest at the entrance and was later allowed to come in without a drum. He was demanding reservation for Dhangars, a shepherd community in the state.
Patole seeks budget session for full duration
MumbaiExpressing his discontent over the curtailment of the duration of the winter session, Assembly speaker Nana Patole has asked the state to hold budget session for full duration. “Curtailment of the session is not a good sign for a healthy democracy... The government should prepare a plan to ensure that the budget session be held for its full duration,” he said.
21 people test positive
MumbaiTwenty-one people from the state legislature, Mantralaya staff, police and service providing agencies were found Covid-19 positive during the two-day drive of tests ahead of winter session. More than 2,700 RT-PCR tests were conducted in three days as mandatory condition to seek admission to Vidhan Bhavan for the session on December 14 and 15. No legislator was found positive during the drive.
