Haryana CM presents Budget; Opposition dubs it 'a failed one'

Chandigarh, Feb 23 (IANS) In the run-up to Assembly polls, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who also holds the Finance portfolio, on Friday presented a populist budget of Rs 189,876.61 crore, 11.37 per cent higher than the revised estimates of Rs 170,490.84 crore for 2023-24, with no new taxes.  

This includes Rs 134,456.36 lakh crore that is allocated for revenue expenditure and Rs 55,420.25 lakh crore for capital expenditure, accounting for 70.81 per cent and 29.19 per cent of the total budget, respectively. 

This was the last budget of the BJP-JJP's five-year term. Haryana goes to the polls in October. 

Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda described the budget as "a failed budget of a failed government, which again disappointed every section of society". 

While presenting the budget, Khattar said with buoyant revenue receipts and economic growth for 2024-25, "he is pleased to announce that there are no new tax proposals in this year's budget". 

The projected revenue receipts are Rs 116,638.90 crore, comprising tax revenue of Rs 84,551.10 crore and Rs 9,243.46 crore as non-tax revenue. 

In tax revenue receipts, GST, VAT, excise, stamp duty, and registration are the major sources of revenue receipt. 

"The share of Central tax is Rs 13,332.23 crore, and grant in aid is Rs 9,512.11 crore. Additionally, for 2024-25, the projected capital receipts is Rs 72,722.01 crore." 

The Chief Minister said "the next two decades until 2047 is the Amrit Kaal where India will be amongst the foremost developed nations in the world, where India will emerge as the vishwa guru. In this journey of Viksit Bharat, Viksit Haryana will play a crucial role. We will have to lay the foundation of Viksit Bharat-Viksit Haryana by our collective efforts and robust action plans". 

Khattar said there is a plan to spend Rs 8,119.24 crore on the construction of infrastructure for public sector undertakings in 2024-25. 

"Therefore, our expenditure for this year is estimated to be Rs 63,539.49 lakh crore." 

Khattar said from 2014-15 to 2023-24, the Gross State Domestic Product, at constant prices (2011-12 prices) of Haryana, has recorded a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 per cent, while from Rs 370,535 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 634,027 crore in 2023-24. "The GSDP at constant prices (2011-12 prices) at the national level has recorded a compound annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent during the same period. Haryana's faster growth as compared to national growth has meant that the share of Haryana's GSDP in all-India GDP has increased from 3.5 per cent in 2014-15 to 3.7 per cent in 2023-24." 

Haryana has witnessed a year-on-year growth in its GSDP at constant prices of 8 per cent in 2023-24, whereas the national GDP registered a growth rate of 7.3 per cent during the same period. 

He said the national per capita income at current prices has increased by 114 per cent from Rs 86,647 in 2014-15 to Rs 185,854 in 2023-24, whereas it has increased by 121 per cent in Haryana from Rs 147,382 in 2014-15 to Rs 325,759 in 2023-24. 

He said that as per the advance estimates of GSVA 2023-24 at current prices, the share of the secondary sector has been estimated to 29.3 per cent. 

In 2023-24, the share of tertiary sector in GSVA is estimated to 52.6 per cent and 18.1 per cent in primary sector. 

The primary, secondary and tertiary sectors have recorded growth of 8.6, 6.3, and 13.8 per cent respectively in 2023-24. 

Responding to the budget estimates, two-time chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Hooda said everyone in the state would have debt on their head. 

He said "the public was hopeful that since it was an election budget, at least in the announcement, people would get some relief this time from inflation, unemployment, exorbitant taxes and economic recession. But the government dashed the public's expectations". 

He said the BJP-JJP came to power by making promises in the elections but there is no mention of minimum support price (MSP) in the entire budget, no mention of bonus on the MSP, Rs 5,100 pension for the elderly, the Old-Pension Scheme (OPS), or of medical colleges in every district and nor of permanent houses for the poor. 

He said this time, the increase in budget did not even match the inflation rate. 

--IANS 

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