Big slice for pet projects,poll promises

amp;149; Estimated expenditure: Rs 70,063 cr.

amp;149; Rs 5 cr for setting up of a commando training centre at Kudremukh,Chikmagalur.

amp;149; Rs 10 cr for purchase of three aerial platforms for providing fire extinguishing services to multi-storeyed buildings in big cities.

amp;149; Quantity of sales tax-free diesel being provided to fishermen of coastal areas to be increased from 75,000 kl to 85,000 kl.

amp;149; The expenditure limit per month on food to be increased from Rs 450 and Rs 650 to Rs 650 and Rs 750 in pre-matric and post-matric hostels,respectively.

amp;149; Rs 10 cr for the construction of shadi mahals/ kalyana mantapas.

amp;149; Free travel in state road transport corporation buses for national awardees.

amp;149; Monthly honorarium of Rs 1,000 to journalists to be raised to Rs 2,000.

amp;149; Rs 2 cr to be provided for the development of gymnasium in rural areas.

amp;149; The allowance paid to police personnel for working on holidays will be enhanced from Rs 50 to Rs 100 per day.

JHARKHAND

amp;149; Total budget estimate: Rs 22,297.59 cr.

amp;149; Rs 500 cr to fulfill the ruling BJPs poll promise of providing 35 kg of rice at Rs 1/kg and 1 kg of iodised salt at 25 paise to every BPL family.

amp;149; To help fight the Naxals,four counter-insurgency schools to be set up at Netarhat in Latehar district,Padma in Hazaribagh district,Musabani in East Singhbhum district,Mandar in Ranchi district. In addition,satellite-based police communication network,two companies each of Special Auxiliary Police,Industrial Security Force,India Reserve Battalion,Pioneer Battalion of Ex-Servicemen,Anti Terrorist Squad and Special Task Force to be set up.

amp;149; Potato,onion,rice and wheat not to be taxed.

amp;149; VAT on ice-cream,namkeen bhujia,helmet,sweets and motor parts to be reduced from 12.5 per cent to 4 per cent.

amp;149; VAT on diesel to be reduced from 20 per cent to 18 per cent.

amp;149; Two hospitals on the lines of AIIMS and two medical colleges in Bokaro and Ghatshila to be established through PPP.

amp;149; Free electricity connection in rural areas under Atal Grameen Jyoti Vidyut Yojna.

ORISSA

amp;149; Orissa did not have a full-fledged Budget this time. Instead,it had a vote-on-account for the first four months of 2010-11 financial year.

amp;149; Vote on account of Rs 17,078.25 cr includes a pension and health insurance scheme for journalists Rs 0.20 cr.

amp;149; Rs 81.04 cr has been earmarked for anti-Naxal operations.

amp;149; Continuing with its Rs 2/kg rice scheme for BPL families,the BJD government has allocated Rs 910.43 cr.

amp;149; Rs 198.50 cr for three programmes named after late chief minister Biju Patnaik Biju KBK Yojana,Biju Kandhamal O Gajapati Yojana and Biju Grama Jyoti Yojana.

amp;149; Rs 11.80 cr for distribution of bicycles among SC/ST girl students.

KERALA

amp;149; Total estimated expenditure: Rs 34,810.37 cr.

amp;149; A major feature of the budget was the proposal to give rice at Rs 2/kg to 35 lakh families,which form half of the total households in the state. This would cover the entire weaker sections of society,irrespective of the BPL-APL segments.

amp;149; The budget got a green touch with the government planning to create a green fund of Rs 1,000 cr for next five years. Next year,the green fund would see an allocation of Rs 100 cr,which would be utilised for conservation activities.

amp;149; Tax waived for rosary,rudraksha and robes used by priests for church rituals. The rosary and rudraksha carried a tax tag of 12.5 per cent,while the robes had 4 per cent.

HARYANA

amp;149; Total outlay: Rs 10,400 cr.

amp;149; Even as the total debt of the state runs close to Rs 44,000 cr,the only new levy proposed was a surcharge on VAT.

amp;149; Haryana Infrastructure Development Board to be set up to act as a nodal agency for planning,financing,implementation and operation of public-private-partnership projects.

amp;149; More toll plazas expected to come up as government proposed a North-South-East-West corridor to connect the states interiors. These roads would be built on Built-Operate-Transfer model.

amp;149; Proposal to extend the Gurgaon-Delhi Metro link till Manesar,with a separate high speed link to international airport.

amp;149; Rajiv Gandhi Urban Development Mission proposed with focus on affordable housing for the urban poor,slum development,water supply with total outlay of Rs 2,500 cr.

amp;149; Another new scheme proposed was Mahatma Gandhi Pension Yojana for members of milk cooperatives and cane growers cooperatives.

amp;149; To address the problem of shortage of teachers in government schools,all teachers retiring during this term to be re-employed till the end of the current academic session.

DELHI

amp;149; Total budget estimate for 2010-11: Rs 26,000 cr.

amp;149; Revenue generated through increase in VAT to rise by Rs 1,000 cr.

amp;149; Rs 2019 cr for adding 3,775 low-floor buses to the DTC fleet.

amp;149; New parking facilities to be constructed at a cost of Rs 473 cr.

amp;149; Rs 420 cr to be given as old-age pension to 3.5 lakh senior citizens.

ASSAM

amp;149; With Assembly elections due to be held in 2011,the focus is on the voters.

amp;149; Rs 10 cr earmarked for financial incentive of Rs 10,000 each to girls from BPL families who marry after 20 years of age.

amp;149; Rs 50 cr for financial assistance of Rs 10,000 each to 50,000 unemployed,unmarried women and widows above 40 years of age.

amp;149; Bicycles for anganwadi workers under ICDS scheme.

amp;149; Rs 12 cr for solar lamps to 1 lakh students,in addition to solar lanterns to 10,000 meritorious girl students.

amp;149; Rs 150 cr for scheme to supply 10 kg of rice per month to 13 lakh BPL families at Rs 6/kg.

amp;149; Rs 25,000 to each college for publication of annual college magazine.

amp;149; One computer to the students union of each degree college.

amp;149; Rs 75 cr for medicated mosquito nets to be given to 20 lakh BPL families in the state.

amp;149; Rs 15 cr for two free CFL lamps each to 10 lakh BPL families.

amp;149; A statue of legendary warrior Lachit Barphukan to be installed at a cost of Rs 4.5 cr in the Brahmaputra in Guwahati.

amp;149; 20 per cent of government supplies and contracts not exceeding Rs 10 lakh to be reserved for women.

amp;149; Tax reduced on plates,forks and spoons made of plastic and paper from existing 13.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

MADHYA PRADESH

amp;149; Total estimated expenditure: Rs 51,507.31 cr.

amp;149; Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for roads in every village that is not covered under the prime ministers rural road scheme in the next three years. Rs 200 cr allocated in the first year for this.

amp;149; Rs 100 cr for short-term agriculture loan at 3 per cent interest rate.

amp;149; Rs 302 cr for Ladli Laxmi Yojana. Under this scheme,the government deposits money in the name of a girl child so that she gets over Rs 1 lakh after turning 21 years of age.

TAMIL NADU

amp;149; With a year or less to go for the next Assembly elections,the DMK governments budget had something for everybody,sans any new taxes.

amp;149; Focus on big ticket welfare schemes Rs 3,750 cr for food subsidy,Rs 1,800 cr for Kalaignar Housing Scheme,Rs 1,716 cr for electricity subsidy,Rs 1,002 cr for old age pension,Rs 924 cr for midday meal scheme.

amp;149; Separate department for differently-abled to monitor and implement welfare schemes,under the direct supervision of the Chief Minister.

amp;149; Sugarcane procurement price increased by Rs 100 to Rs 1,650 per tonne.

amp;149; One million Class IX students to be provided English-English-Tamil Dictionary free of cost.

amp;149; New engineering,medical colleges,polytechnic institutes.

amp;149; Tuition fee waiver for all students pursuing post-graduate courses in government colleges.

amp;149; Slew of measures for farmers,weavers and fishermen,as well as members of the SC/ST and minority communities,patients from poor families.

amp;149; Reduction of tariff on commonly used items,including coffee,ghee and pickles.

PUNJAB

amp;149; Total estimate: Rs 43,925.21 cr.

amp;149; Budget got a green touch with a Rs 300-cr three-year programme to control pollution in Satluj and Ghaggar rivers; Rs 12 cr for cleaning Buddha Nullah and the holy Bein.

amp;149; To encourage youth to join the Armed Forces,proposal to award Rs 1 lakh to a cadet from Punjab who gets admission to Indian Military Academy and National Defence Academy.

amp;149; Rs 4 cr for grant of Rs 5 lakh each to widows of martyrs or disabled solders for purchase of land or house.

amp;149; Rs 3 cr for construction of Sainik Rest Houses and Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Museum at Ludhiana.

amp;149; Entertainment duty brought down to 25 per cent from 125 per cent

amp;149; Honorarium of part-time Urdu teachers hiked from Rs 500 per month to Rs 2,500.

amp;149; No new taxes proposed,electricity duty hiked by 3 per cent from 10 per cent to 13 per cent.

CHHATTISGARH

amp;149; Fried and roasted grams,kerosene wick,kerosene stove and camphor made tax-free.

amp;149; Of the total estimated expenditure,46 per cent allocated to the social sector.

amp;149; To tackle the Maoist problem,allocation for police department increased by 16.68 per cent from Rs 977.20 cr to Rs 1,140.15 cr,with the focus on setting up new police stations and upgrading those in Naxal-hit areas.

amp;149; Rs 1,450 cr earmarked for pro-poor populist schemes like supply of rice at subsidised rates to 37 lakh BPL families.

amp;149; Rs 100 cr for free electricity for farmers using agriculture pumps up to five horse power.

amp;149; Rs 840 cr for providing bonus at the rate of Rs 270 per quintal to farmers from whom paddy is purchased on support price.

GUJARAT

amp;149; Rs 100 cr for Mahatma Gandhi Temple in Gandhinagar. CM Narendra Modi has announced that his government will use Gandhi and his Gujarat legacies as a plank to boost tourism.

amp;149; Rs 100 cr for a state department to study climate change.

amp;149; Banks which repossess vehicles they finance when the EMIs are not paid need not pay tax on those when they are in banks custody.

WEST BENGAL

amp;149; A western classical music enthusiast,Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta announced the waiver of 4 per cent VAT on musical strings.

amp;149; VAT exemption on dried flowers and other parts of plants.

amp;149; Entertainment Tax reduced for films made in Bengali,Nepali and Santhali languages from 10 per cent to 2 per cent.

amp;149; West Bengal Urban Employment Scheme to be launched for urban areas on the lines of NREGS.

RAJASTHAN

amp;149; Rudraksh/ religious beads exempted from tax.

amp;149; Mehendi cones now tax-free.

amp;149; VAT on CFL bulbs reduced from 15 per cent to 5 per cent to promote its use.

amp;149; Tax exemption for single-screen movie theatres that charge Rs 50 or less for a ticket but only if the movie being shown is certified U.

BIHAR

amp;149; Rs 4,906.93 cr allotted for Nitish Kumars pet projects on roads.

amp;149; Education has got Rs 2,500 cr.

amp;149; Rs 100 cr earmarked for Midday meal scheme in primary schools.

amp;149; Mukhyamantri Balika Poshak Yojana has got Rs 132 cr to provide school uniforms to 18.85 lakh girl students from Class VI to VIII.

amp;149; The government will give Rs 10,000 each to 37,522 girl students who complete matriculation with first division.

amp;149; Rs 6 cr earmarked for distributing tool-kit to each of the 2.4 lakh Muslim girls who complete vocational training under Hunar,another of Nitish Kumars pet projects.

amp;149; Home department will get Rs 100.55 cr. Besides,an additional Rs 100 cr will be used for modernising the police force.

amp;149; Rs 100 cr allotted to Mukhyamantri Setu Yojana.

amp;149; Rs 20.73 cr earmarked for raising a disaster response team in view of the recurrent floods in the state.

amp;149; SC/ST welfare department will get Rs 257.66 cr.

amp;149; Minority welfare department will get Rs 61.30 cr for constructing hostels for students.

UTTAR PRADESH

amp;149; The UP Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Amendment Bill 2010 was passed by the Assembly. The amendment gives the government powers to decide the limit of the fiscal deficit as percentage of the Gross State Domestic Product,which earlier had the ceiling of 3 per cent.

amp;149; The Opposition said the move will send negative signals to potential investors.

amp;149; The state government defended the amendment citing financial burden of over Rs 21,000 cr following the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission and a shortfall of nearly Rs 11,000 cr caused by the fall in the states share in Central taxes.

amp;149; The government said against the estimated fiscal deficit at 6.6 per cent of the Central government,the figure in UP stood at 4 per cent.

amp;149; CM Mayawati,while addressing a rally on March 15,claimed that less then 1 per cent of the states budget had been spent on parks,statues and memorials. The government had earlier admitted that UPRNN had completed works worth Rs 4,500 cr on parks,statues,murals and memorials.

amp;149; The Congress had said the BSP has spent over Rs 14,000 crore on its pet projects during the last three fiscal.

JAMMU amp; KASHMIR

amp;149; The state has a zero deficit budget; it will look towards the Centre to meet nearly 81 per cent of its total expenditure during 2010-11.

amp;149; Budgetary receipts and expenditure have been kept at Rs 25,984 cr each. Of this,the states own tax and non-tax revenue comes to Rs 4,982 cr which is 19 per cent of the total budgetary receipts.

amp;149; It divides the total expenditure of Rs 25,984 cr between Plan Rs 6,000 cr,PMRP Rs 1,206 cr,Centrally sponsored schemes Rs 850 cr and non plan expenditure Rs17,928 cr.

amp;149; Rs 8,200 cr is estimated to be spent on pay and allowances of the government employees. This is apart from the payment of pensions and retirement benefits to employees for which a provision of Rs 1,800 cr has been kept.

amp;149; 25 per cent concession on stamp duty on purchase of land in the name of a woman.

amp;149; Hike in monthly remuneration of Anganwari workers by Rs 300 and Anganwari helpers by Rs 200 each.

amp;149; No VAT and toll tax on agricultural tools and implements,bee hives and bee colonies,pesticides,weedicides,insecticides,all types of fertilisers and fodder.

amp;149; No VAT and toll tax on solar energy equipment,including solar cookers,solar heaters,solar dyers,solar lantern and solar street lighting.

amp;149; VAT exemption on wheat,flour,suji,besan,paddy and rice.

amp;149; The government has extended exemption of eligible industry from VAT by another year and given general sales tax exemption to hotels,lodges and guest houses in the state.

MAHARASHTRA

amp;149; Museum in Mumbai showcasing Sachin Tendulkars career.

amp;149; Mumbai to also have a museum depicting the history of Indian cinema.

amp;149; Memorials for former chief minister M S Kannamwar,Padma Bhushan J P Naik,scholar Narhar Kurundkar,Dadasaheb Dharmadhikari,warriors Kanhoji Angre and Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav.

amp;149; Shivshrusthi project at Pachad on the foothills of the Raigad Fort to showcase the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

amp;149; Development authorities to be set up at pilgrimage centres like Tuljapur and Paithan. Developmental works for the benefit of pilgrims to be undertaken at Dehu,Alandi,Pandharpur,Bhandara dongar,Palkhi Tal,Shegaon,Shri Kshetra Parshuram,Kunkeshwar,Bharadi Devi Mata at Angnewadi and Jejuri.

ENS reports