Chhattisgarh budget on February 9

The State budget of Chhattisgarh for the financial year 2009-10 will be presented on February 9. The second phase of the budget session of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly will begin on February 2 and will end on February 20.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, who holds the portfolio of finance, would present the state budget on February 9 at 3 p.m. This would be the first budget of the second tenure of the Raman Singh government that assumed office in December, 2008.

The annual budget layout of the state in the current fiscal was Rs 18,285 crore. Sources in the state finance department said that it would increase to Rs 24,000 crore if the state government made the budgetary provisions to implement the vows made by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the election.

The state government would be requiring Rs 5000 crore to Rs 6000 crore for implementing the promises. Sources said the state government would however avoid launching all the schemes in the coming financial year and hence, the budget layout would not increase to the figure as expected.

The prominent promises made by the party include a kilogram of rice for Rs 1 to the 700000 Antyodaya (poorest of the poor) cardholders, a kilogram of rice for Rs 2 to 3.6 million people below poverty line, free iodised salt to poor people, bonus of Rs 270 per quintal of paddy to the farmers, free power to the farmers using irrigation pumps upto 5 HP, and interest free loan to the farmers.

The state government had already announced to implement the subsidized rice schemes from the new financial year while the bonus on paddy had also been implemented in this session. The government would require more than Rs 2000 crore only for these schemes, sources said.