Maharashtra Interim Budget: No New Taxes Proposed, AIIMS Pune, State Bhavan In Ayodhya, Srinagar Planned

The total expenditure for the upcoming financial year was pegged at Rs 6,00,522 crore, with a revenue deficit of Rs 9,734 crore.

Maharashtra Dy CM Ajit Pawar along with Cabinet Minister for Ministry of Education and Ministry of Marathi Deepak Kesarkar arrives to present the State Budget 2024-25 in the Assembly.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the interim budget for 2024-25 in the Assembly on Tuesday. The budget highlighted key initiatives without proposing any new taxes.

The total expenditure for the upcoming financial year was pegged at Rs 6,00,522 crore, with a revenue deficit of Rs 9,734 crore, reported news agency PTI.

The government outlined plans to establish chemotherapy centers in all districts and an AIIMS in Pune. Additionally, guest houses will be built in Srinagar and Ayodhya to accommodate tourists and devotees from the state. Local authorities have provided land at prime locations for these guest houses for which a provision of Rs 77 crore will be made, said the finance minister.

Pawar emphasized the government's aim to expand the state's economy to USD 1 trillion through sustainable, environment-friendly, and inclusive development.

Pawar, who presented his first budget as finance minister of the Eknath Shinde government, said a supplementary budget (full budget) will be presented after the Lok Sabha elections, likely to be held in April-May, as per the PTI report.

A scheme was announced to provide pink auto-rickshaws to 5,000 women in ten major cities. "The budget focuses on the implementation of welfare schemes for the youth, women, the poor and farmers," Pawar said in the Assembly.

An outlay of Rs 1.92 lakh crore was proposed for the Annual Plan 2024-25, including allocations for Scheduled Castes and Tribal Development.

The fiscal and revenue deficits were maintained within the limits set by the Fiscal Responsibility and Financial Management Act, said the deputy CM. The fiscal deficit for 2024-25 was projected at Rs 99,288 crore, the PTI report added.

The budget also allocated funds for various infrastructure projects, including Rs 22,225 crore being raised for the Virar-Alibag Multimodal Corridor, Rs 10,519 crore for Pune Ring Road, and Rs 2,886 crore for the Jalna-Nanded Expressway.

Land acquisition for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project is nearly complete in Maharashtra, he noted. The work of the Navi Mumbai Airport is progressing speedily and the first phase will be operational by March 2025, Pawar said, reported PTI.

Six Vande Bharat Express semi-high-speed trains have commenced services in Maharashtra, while a provision of Rs 15,554 crore has been made for railway projects in the state in the interim Union budget presented on February 1, Pawar informed the Lower House.

Maharashtra received Rs 8,618 crore as Goods and Services Tax compensation in the current financial year. An amount of Rs 7,057.73 crore has been sanctioned as an interest-free loan for 50 years under the 'Scheme for Special Assistance for Capital Investment,' the news agency reported.

The budget included provisions for farmer welfare, healthcare, and tourism development.

The first installment of Rs 1,691.47 crore has been provided as grants to 84.57 lakh farmer families under the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana announced in the last budget, he said, reported PTI.

Insurance amount totalling Rs 2,268.43 crore has been paid to 50.01 lakh farmers under the 'One Rupee Crop Insurance Scheme' in the 2023 Kharif season, the finance minister said.

It increased the annual health cover under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per family and the number of hospitals covered was increased from 1,000 to 1,900 in the current fiscal.

The budget outlined plans to enhance tourism infrastructure and services at 50 newly identified destinations. The government will roll out a sustainable tourism policy, and theme parks, adventure sports, shopping malls, water parks, and accommodation facilities will be provided at 50 newly identified tourist destinations, he said, as per the PTI report.

Opposition Slams Interim Budget

The opposition slammed the interim budget and maintained it was prepared keeping the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in mind with little attention to financial planning.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray said the budget was full of assurances and dubbed it as "pro-contractors". "The budget presented today is full of assurances keeping the elections in mind. The announcements made are big and alluring, actually, it (the budget) is for contractors," Thackeray said, reported PTI.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) state president Jayant Patil said the budget was supposed to be an interim one, but it was presented as a full budget keeping in mind the Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, the Congress said youth, farmers, and women have got nothing from the budget. State Congress president Nana Patole said the government has failed on all fronts and the budget assurances were an attempt to hide its failure and corruption, the PTI report added.