By: ML Verma
Shimla (Mar 9): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who also hold the portfolio of finance, today presented a tax-free populist budget of Rs 16,708.46 crore outlay. Presenting his fourth budget of the term, he pegged the 2011-12 annual plan at Rs 3,300 crore, which is 10 per cent higher than last
year.
With surplus opening balance of Rs 334.02 crore, the Chief Minister balanced the budgeted expenditure for 20011-12 at Rs 16708.46 crore against an expected revenue target of Rs 16,720.33 crore, leaving a closing surplus of Rs 345.89 crore. About Rs 2268.11 crore of the revenue target is to be met by additional borrowings, 550 crore from deposits, advances, remittance and provident fund etc.
Of the Rs 16,708.47 Cr budgeted expenditure, Rs 5,881.66 crore is for
salaries, Rs 2,150 crore against interest payments on loans raised, Rs
960.84 crore on loan repayments and Rs 2,210 crore on pensions. In percentage terms, 35.20 per cent of the expenditure is on salaries, 12.87 pc interest payments on loans, 5.75 pc loan repayments, 13.23 pc on pensions, and 32.95 pc on development.
Chief Minister announced to carry forward subsidies to the tune of Rs 400 crore being incurred by state government on PDS, transport and electricity. The outlay also contained Rs 3,164.54 crore outlay for education (with increase of Rs 597.54 crore), Rs 603.68 crore for roads and bridges, Rs 816 crore for Scheduled Caste sub-plan and Rs 297 crore for tribal sub-plan, Rs 156.42 for health and Ayurveda, Rs 428 crore Asian Development Bank project for development of tourism related infrastructure, Rs 120.08 crore for forestry and wild life sector, Rs 461.60 crore for power sector and Rs 290 crore for IPH.
The Chief Minister said that Rs 550 crore would be spent on disbursing arrears due to implementation of 5th Pay Commission recommendation for employees in the coming year as 100 per cent arrears would be remitted to Class IV, 40 pc to class III and 20 per cent to pensioners.
The Chief Minister said that the government has been cleared 61 per cent payment of interim relief to employees and all the employees who have been completed 8 years of daily wages service until march 31, 2011, would be regularized. He also proposed to fill 800 posts of clerk in the state.
