West Bengal: Budget focuses on social schemes

Kolkata: With an eye on the panchayat elections, the Rs 2,14,958.73 crore-Budget, tabled by state finance minister Amit Mitra in the Assembly on Wednesday, has focussed on social welfare schemes for the rural populace despite its deficit’s rising by Rs 3 crores to Rs 6 crores. This year’s budget presentation was however, marked by a record duration.

Dr Mitra, whom Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee allowed to read out the 74-page budget by sitting due to his illness, completed his presentation jumping pages within 15 minutes, which is perhaps the shortest time any finance minister took in the Assembly so far. The main attraction among the schemes is Rupashree, in line of Kanyashree, to tackle child marriages with an allocation of Rs 1500 crores.

In the House, Dr Mitra said, “...we are aware that many poor families find it extremely difficult to bear the exprenditure of marriage of the daughters and have to borrow at a very high rate of interest to bear the marriage expenses. Many of these poor families are ruined because of this. My Government wants to stand by these families and partly relieve them of this financial burden.”

He elaborated, “I propose to extend a one-time assistance of Rs 25000 to the family of the girl with an annual income upto Rs 1.5 lakh at the time of marriage after attaining the age of 18 years. This dream scheme of Hon’ble chief minister has been named ‘Rupashree.’ This will benefit annually around 6 lakh families.”

Dr Mitra also introduced a pension scheme: Manabik for the persons with disabilities, allocating Rs 250 crores.

Under this scheme a monthly pension of Rs 1000 would be provided to two lakh persons with disability compared to a monthly pension of Rs 750 to 44,000 such persons with disability more than 40 per cent which exists now. Those, covered by the existing scheme, will also get the benefit of the additional pension.

To support around 25 lakh tea workers, Dr Mitra exempted the tea gardens from the payment of agricultural income tax for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 fiscals. He even waived education cess and rural employment cess. The old age monthly pension for farmers has been increased from Rs 750 to Rs 1000. The figure of farmers covered has been increased to one lakh from 66,000.

To boost real estate sector Dr Mitra also announced of reduction in stamp duty by one per cent everywhere on a property worth upto Rs 1 crore. He explained that as a result the stamp duty on all properties valued between '40 lakhs and '1 crore in rural areas will come down from present six per cent to five per cent and urban areas from seven per cent to six per cent.

Praising the budget chief minister Mamata Banerjee later informed that her government has created an employment of 81 lakhs people in last six years.“This budget is ideally for Ma Mati Manush. The budget was not made in view of the upcoming elections,” she said.