Patna: The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Monday tabled a Rs 3.17 lakh crore budget in the assembly, the last before the state goes to polls later this year.
Presenting the budget on the floor of the assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who holds the finance portfolio, told the House that the budget, the total size of which was “Rs 38,169 crore more than the last fiscal”, is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “margdarshan” (guidance) and the CM’s “netritva” (leadership).
“The government has received enormous support from the people of the state in its bid to achieve the goal of a ‘samriddh Bihar’, which is essential to achieve the prime minister’s goal of a ‘viksit Bihar’.
“Modi’s vision of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas aur sabka prayas’ and the CM’s motto of ‘nyay ke saath vikas’ have been the twin guiding principles behind the budget. We are making progress, leaving behind years of anarchy,” said the senior BJP leader, in an apparent dig at the opposition RJD-Congress combine.
Speaking about the budgetary allocations for different sectors, Choudhary said Rs 60,964 crore has been set aside for education, which is of crucial importance in the densely populated state that has a relatively young demography.
He said Rs 20,335 crore has been allocated for the health sector, while Rs 17,831 crore will be given to the home department, which is responsible for law and order, improvement in which has been the most talked about achievement of the NDA government.
In keeping with the government’s push for women’s empowerment, the budget has proposed setting up of a ‘mahila haat’ (women’s marketplace) in Patna, besides “pink toilets” in all districts and “pink buses” in major cities.
“We also propose the establishment of ‘Kanya Vivah Mandaps’ in all panchayats, which will serve the needs of poor rural families with girls of marriageable age,” Choudhary said.
He said Bihar will be building “greenfield airports” at Sultanganj and Raxaul, in Bhagalpur and East Champaran districts, respectively, and “the airport at Purnea will become operational in three months from now”.
In a bid to strengthen the health network in the state, a dedicated cancer hospital has been proposed for Begusarai district.
The budget also spoke of the government’s resolve to make “paperless” the registration of property.
In his speech, Choudhary also mentioned about the “cooperation” received by the state from the Centre, and thanked it for the many announcements made for Bihar in the Union budget.
