The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday presented a budget of Rs 65,571.49 crore for the fiscal year 2022-23 in the state assembly. Presenting the budget on the first day of the current budget session of the Vidhan Sabha, Finance Minister Prem Chand Agarwal said that the priority of the state government is strong financial discipline and management, better conduct of business and effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The proposed budget of Rs 65,571 crore includes revenue expenditure of Rs 49,013.31 crore and capital expenditure of Rs 16,558.18 crore. Receipts during the financial year are estimated at Rs 63,774.55 crore. A provision of Rs 17,350.21 crore has been made for the salary and allowances of state government employees in the budget. There is a provision of Rs 6,703.10 crore for pension and Rs 6,017.85 crore for interest payment.
The highest allocation of Rs 1,500 crore has been proposed in the budget for pension payment to elderly and widowed women. The budget proposes to allocate Rs 500 crore for Nanda Gaura Yojana. This scheme is related to improving the male-female ratio. Under this scheme, the government will give an amount of Rs 51,000 in seven installments to the parents of the girls. This amount will be given from the birth of the girl till her marriage.
Rs 300 crore for Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana, Rs 311.76 crore for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural), Rs 205 crore for Smart City Scheme, Rs 112.38 crore for National Rural Livelihood Mission and Rs 112.38 crore for Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana in the budget. 105.41 crore has been proposed. Along with this, a provision of Rs 25 crore has been made for the plan to stop migration from hilly areas and Rs 20 crore for the development of border areas.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami described the budget as a visionary and a happy one for farmers and women. Let us inform that a provision of Rs 17 crore has been made in the budget under the Chief Minister Collective Horticulture Development Scheme. Besides, a provision of Rs 18 crore 40 lakh has also been made for the tea development scheme.