Common man's progress motto of Shinde govt's budget: Sudhir Mungantiwar

Sudhir Mungantiwar. File Pic

Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Sunday said people's progress is the motto of the budget recently presented by the Eknath Shinde-led dispensation, and accused the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation headed by Uddhav Thackeray of taking the state backwards.

The Minister for Forests, Cultural Affairs and Fisheries said this during a press conference here.

"The motto of the budget presented by Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis is progress of the general public of the state. The budget aims to make the state economically strong," he said.

The Shinde-Fadnavis government presented its maiden budget on March 9, in which it proposed Rs 6,000 assistance to farmers and Re 1 crop insurance scheme while also offering relief in professional tax to working women, 50 per cent discount on ticket fares in state-run buses to women and a new scheme for the girl child, among other things.

Mungantiwar said the government saw a 22.60 per cent rise in the collection of State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) with the cooperation of the general public, farmers and other sections.

"The government has raised the budget size from Rs 5 lakh crore to Rs 6 lakh crore and the funds raised through SGST will be used. The opposition is alleging that the loan burden will be increased by the government. However, it is necessary to understand that the debt burden will be calculated on the basis of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), which is 18.23 per cent at present," he said.

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When the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) went out of power in 2019 after a five-year rule, the GSDP was 16.98 per cent, Mungantiwar said.

"However, after the MVA government came to power, the debt burden rose to 19.96 per cent. That government took the state one step backwards and presently misguiding people over the budget 2023-24. But this government focuses on the development of Maharashtra and its public alone," he said.
Apart from the 'Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi' scheme, under which every farmer in the state will get Rs 6,000 in addition to the Rs 6,000 given under the central scheme (PM Kisan Samman Nidhi) every year, the paddy growers in 14 districts, including in Vidarbha, will get bonus, the minister added.

The government has also planned to provide affordable food to farmers through the Shiv Bhojan scheme at the APMCs, he added.

The state will celebrate the upcoming 350th anniversary of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in a grand manner, he said, adding, "The government has already sanctioned Rs 350 crore for the celebration, which will kick start from June 2 and continue for a year."

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