Winding up the discussion in the Budget in the House, Minister for Finance, Culture and Labour & Employment Dr. Haseeb A Drabu today said the budget is about building state’s economy that will lead to the welfare of society.He said the Government through the budget has tried to build a system which will go a long way in revamping and resurrecting the state’s economic profile. It will also give a roadmap for accelerating the developmental initiatives undertaken by the Government.Dr. Drabu said that the new initiatives introduced in the budget would ensure that the menace of corruption is also arrested and checked. He said we have put in place a mechanism that would systematically end the irregularities as well as the corrupt practices.The Finance Minister said that the Government has also developed a mechanism to put a check on any irregularities in Government department by giving a direction to build a system that will clearly indicate money transactions happening in Government sector. He added that the present budget is an effort to fix the system and to remove corruption from it.
The Minister said that instead of creating a undue hype about the various measures being undertaken the Government has given a roadmap for development. He added that for the growth of the state public investment is must and the Government would use the same route for next five years, besides restoring balance in capital expenditure.Referring to the PM’s package, the Minister said that it would catalyze the developmental initiatives being undertaken besides, giving the economy the necessary flip. He said that the state has got the packages only on two occasions since last sixty years and we would ensure that every single penny is spent judiciously.Investment in three major sectors, agriculture, horticulture and irrigation sectors has increased by 87 percent, 60 percent and 33 percent respectively, the Minister said, and maintained that it would go a long way in giving necessary impetus to these, as they form the core sectors the state’s economy. He said that the budget has also introduced several initiatives for upliftment of horticulture and agriculture sectors.
Dr. Drabu said that apart from giving target manner subsidies, the government would prepare a consolidated BPL list in next six months so that the list of genuine beneficiaries of various schemes comes to fore.Referring to the opposition’s charges, the Finance Minister said that the business community world over have never been comfortable with the tax regimes of different Governments. He said that the toll tax was raised after seven years, and the other taxes have been raised after much deliberation and consultation with the stake holders.The Minister said that the Government believes in transparency and not in fantasy and concealment which can be gauged by making the present budget simple by giving relevant indicators only, besides things like economic growth, taxation are explained in easy terms, he added.Clarifying the reasons for not tabling the Economic Survey report, he said that the aim of the Government is to provide the latest data so that people will have a clear picture of the problems and the developmental works that need to be undertaken by the Government.Reiterating the need for constructive criticism, Mr. Drabu said the issue of casual labors is a social problem which has arisen due to faulty system, and the government has tried to address it in the budget. Besides, he said a system has been put in place with which the employee’s salary and General Provident Fund issue would be resolved for good.