GUJARAT BUDGET 2016-17 SPOTLIGHT ON YOUTH AND FARMERS
- The Gujarat government on Tuesday presented its annual Budget for the financial year 2016-17 with the overall size of Rs 1,51,852 crore. With an annual plan outlay of Rs 85,557.78 crore, the proposed Budget has a clear focus on two disgruntled sections of the BJP political vote bank youth and farmers. The Budget’s priorities seem to be defined looking at the 2017 Assembly elections as it emphasises on wooing these two sections. The proposed Budget enlarges the scope of Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana (MYSY), which was announced following Patidar reservation stir, allocating Rs 2,500 crore for roads mainly in rural areas. It also proposes opening up 66,000 government jobs in the current year, which Finance Minister Saurabh Patel said, was being done “for the first time since the foundation of the state (in 1960)”.
- In the recently-concluded local body elections, Gujarat BJP faced a severe setback mainly in district panchayats and taluka panchayats, which is seen as a fallout of the Patidar quota stir. To calm the community, seen as wealthy and progressive in Gujarat, the state government had announced MYSY, offering financial assistance to the economically weaker sections of the society. The annual family income cap to avail the scheme has been increased from Rs 4.5 lack to Rs 6 lack. Also, the qualification percentile to avail the benefit of the scheme has been decreased from 90 to 80.
- Finance Minister Patel also floated the “Smart village” project, allocating Rs 185 crore to cover around 300 villages in the first year. “We aim to make villages of Gujarat self-reliant, clean and healthy, crime free, disease free, samras (with co-opted gram panchayats) and economically empowered,” said Patel. The villages will be selected through independent and transparent competition. Every Smart village will be provided special assistance by the state government. Under this scheme, there will be scope to include extra villages adopted through people’s participation. The government has provided Rs 6,729.42 crore under plan and non-plan for panchayat, rural housing and rural development department. The 66,000 jobs that the Gujarat government announced to open up in a single year will be in the education, police, health, revenue and forest departments. The FM also announced that apart from these government jobs, there were plans to hold recruitment in grant-in-aid institutes and public sector enterprises.
- To woo the farming community, special emphasis has been given on irrigation and flood management in the Budget plan. Patel said that irrigation and flood management comprised 16.7 per cent of the total plan size. Also, special provision of Rs 25 crore has been announced for a Drainage Master Plan for districts like Banaskantha, Patan, Kutch, Surendranagar, Ahmadabad and Mehsana.
- The agriculture and allied services sector also forms around 7 per cent of the total plan size of the Budget. For farmers, a number of provisions have been announced, like loans at 1 per cent interest rate for Kharif crops, with the upper limit of Rs 3 lack. The Budget has the provision of Rs 375 crore for this which is claimed to benefit 38 lack farmers in the state.
- The provision of Rs 228.50 crore has been made for precautionary stoking of fertiliser through Gujarat Aggro Industries Corporation to preempt chronic shortage of fertiliser at the time of intense demand. Also, with an objective to protect farmers from agricultural risks and provide them support for crop loss during natural calamity, provision of Rs 495.67 crore has been made under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, announced recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- Under infrastructure, the Budget has announced Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojana to augment and strengthen road network in rural areas. The project targets 18,000 villages and 16,245 hamlets of the state. “The state government has identified works to the tune of Rs 10,000 over the next three years for which Rs 2,500 crore has been planned under the scheme in the current year,” Patel said in his Budget speech.
- CM Anandiben Patel Tuesday hailed the state Budget as a concrete step by her government for overall development. She said it will bring paradigm shift in the lives of tribal, rural people, women and the youth, according an official release. Opposition Congress, on the other hand, termed it “jugglery of figures”. Leader of opposition in the Assembly Shankersinh Vaghela said it offered no solution for price-rise and measures for job creation. with pit inputs
- Rs 14,294 Cr for irrigation, flood control
- Gandhinagar: Irrigation and flood management comprised 16.7 percent of the total plan size, Rs 14,294 crore, of the 2016-17 Budget. This assumes importance since Gujarat is facing general Assembly elections in 2017 and availability of water for both drinking and agriculture is of paramount importance.
- Finance Minister Saurabh Patel has proposed to provide Rs 9,050 crore for the Sardar Sarovar Yojana. A provision of Rs 163 crore has been made for installing the radial gates and other ancillary works which are under progress in this project.
- The government has altered the implementation of Sardar Sarovar Yojana by preferring Under Ground Pipeline over construction of sub-minor canals. The budget has provision of Rs 2,021 crore for laying UGPL covering around 12,500-km to provide irrigation to 5 lack hectares of land in 64 talukas. To assist farmers in increasing their income by adopting drip irrigation, Rs 765 crore has been proposed to be provided to them. A provision of Rs 919 crore has been made to increase irrigation facility for tribal farmers.
- For increasing the water storage capacity, it has been planned to deepen 470 small check-dams, 270 big check-dams and 850 ponds and repair check-dams. Also, there is planning for undertaking desolating of reservoirs. The Budget has total provision of Rs 329 crore for this. It has provision of Rs 498 crore to improve existing canal network benefiting 1 lack hectare of irrigated land.
