Nothing for Maharashtra in Union Budget, says Deputy CM Ajit Pawar

Ajit Pawar. File Pic

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar claimed the state contributed Rs 48,000 crore to the central kitty in the form of GST, but it got only Rs 5,000 crore in the Union Budget for 2022-23, which he said, reads like an election manifesto with no relief for middle class tax payers.

In a statement issued after the budget was presented in Parliament, Pawar, who is also the state's finance minister, said injustice has been done to Maharashtra, ruled by the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance. The senior NCP leader also criticized various budget proposals. "It seems the Union government has decided to continue its tradition of neglecting Maharashtra in its budgetary provisions like the previous ones. Maharashtra contributed to the tune of Rs 48,000 crore to the Union government's total collection of Rs 2.20 lakh crore (so far) in the current fiscal (2021-22).

However, Maharashtra has received only Rs 5,000 crore in return,¿ Pawar said. ¿Injustice to Maharashtra has continued this year also. No matter how much one would search (in the budget), you will not find anything that benefits Maharashtra,¿ claimed the finance minister. He said the budget is silent on states' demand for refund of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"There is no mention of the Union government's decision to continue GST refund to state governments for the next five years. All the states have made this demand, still the issue finds no mention in the budget," said Pawar.

"The Union government claimed to have tabled a development blueprint for the next 25 years. However, it has only presented an election manifesto ahead of polls in five states,¿ he said. Pawar said there is no relief for middle class tax payers or announcement of slashing fuel prices in the budget. "The corporate tax has been slashed from 18 per cent to 15 per cent. Taxes on diamonds are proposed to come down, but no relief has been provided to middle class tax payers. Also, there is no proposal to cut prices of cooking gas or fuel products," he said.

Accusing the Centre of being publicity-hungry, Pawar said, "We know the Union government thrives on publicity and puts on 60-65 cameras for a single event. In this background, I can understand why the Union government has slashed taxes on camera lenses.¿ He said the government's decision to tax the transfer of digital assets will largely affect the business community in Mumbai. Pawar expressed doubts over schemes announced in the budget getting implemented in the next three years (remaining term of the NDA government).

"I doubt whether the schemes announced in the budget will be completed in the next three years. I fail to understand how long the Union government would continue funding GIFT City (a business district) in Gujarat," he said.

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