Budget 2024: Haryana seeks special grant assistance for projects in NCR

Haryana Finance Minister raised this issue during a meeting of finance ministers of all states that was chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi

Haryana Finance Minister Jai Prakash Dalal on Saturday sought special grant assistance from the Centre for the implementation of various projects in the national capital region (NCR).

Dalal raised this issue during a meeting of finance ministers of all states that was chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi.

In the meeting, Dalal mentioned that the Haryana government has developed the KundliManesarPalwal (KMP) expressway around Delhi to reduce congestion in the NCR region.

"Work is also underway on the major project of the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor, a 122-km long project from Palwal to Sonipat with a revised estimated cost of Rs 11,600 crore," according to an official release.

Other major projects being implemented in the NCR include the integrated multi-modal logistics hub in Narnaul covering an area of 1,000 acres, the India International Horticulture Market in Ganaur, Sonipat, and the Delhi-Panipat fast rail corridor as part of the regional rapid transport system, he said.

Therefore, the government of India should consider providing special grant assistance to Haryana for the implementation of these major projects in the NCR, he said.

The Haryana FM said the special assistance scheme for capital investment for states should be continued in the future as it incentivizes funding for infrastructure projects in the states.

He suggested that the allocation to the state under this scheme could be increased based on Haryana's 6 per cent contribution to GST collection or its 3.7 per cent contribution to the national GDP in 2023-24.

Dalal said the state government has taken several steps to enhance social security within the state.

The amount under the 'old age samman allowance scheme' and other social security pensions have been increased to Rs 3,000 per month, which is the highest in the country, he said.

The total number of beneficiaries has also increased to about 32 lakh.

Similarly, the budget provision for various social security pensions has been raised to around Rs 12,000 crore, which is 6.30 per cent of the total budget for 2024-25, said the minister.

He noted that the government of India released a grant of Rs 250 crore in November 2022 for the years 2021-22 and 2022-23, which is 2.83 per cent of the total expenditure of Rs 8,821.16 crore incurred by the state government on social security pension schemes in 2022-23.

He suggested that the government of India either increase the rate of financial assistance under the proposed social security schemes or share the burden of this expenditure with the state.