Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today hailed the state budget for the year 2015-16, presented by the Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, as a balanced, growth oriented and pro-people budget.
“In consonance with the state government’s endeavor to achieve a target of comprehensive development, the budget 2015-16 is all set to take care of each section of society besides propelling the tempo of overall growth of the state” added Mr. Badal.In a statement, the Chief Minister described the budget as a perfect roadmap to further put the state in the orbit of high growth trajectory. He appreciated the Finance Minister’s vision not to burden people of Punjab with dose of any fresh taxes. Mr. Badal said that the balanced budget was evident from the fact that it strikes a perfect balance in agriculture and industry as the agrarian sector has been allocated Rs.3512 crore whereas industrial sector would get a major fillip with the new Entrepreneurship Development Program for micro and small enterprises.
The Chief Minister also commended Mr. Dhindsa’s approach to boost rural development for which major thrust has been laid by introducing Mukh Mantri Pendu Vikas Yojana or the Chief Minister Comprehensive Rural Development Scheme with an allocation of Rs 600 crore. He said that this budget has taken care of all the core sectors i.e. Health, education, Power, infra structure, social security, water supply and sanitation, Horticulture and others. Mr. Badal also mentioned that the budget for 2015-16 would be instrumental in ensuring far more financial discipline with economic prudence in narrowing down the fiscal deficit with a focus on the enhancement of revenue through resource mobilization. The Chief Minister said that with the allocation of Rs 500 crore the budget has demonstrated the spirit of ‘Right to Service” by setting up 2174 Sewa Kendras or Unified Service Centres for providing 50 services to the citizens at their doorstep. He said that these services would be enhanced to 200 over the next two years.
The Chief Minister also expressed satisfaction over the proposed monetary relief to the hapless families of the debt ridden farmers who have committed suicide and hoped that it would go a long way in mitigating their woes. The Chief Minister said that the decision to set up 2000 Skill Training Centres for women in rural areas was a right step in the direction of women empowerment as it would pave way for encouraging employability and self-employment among rural women. Likewise, he said that move to establish 500 such centers training boys with a combined outlay of Rs.200 crore would help in opening new vistas of employment for them.The Chief Minister envisioned the current budget as a roadmap for the revival of industrial sector and imparting fresh lease of life to the stagnated agrarian economy of the state through the flagship program of crop diversification. He said that the current budget was a milestone which would go a long way in setting new parameters of growth and development to cherish aspirations of people of Punjab in near future.