GUWAHATI, Feb 1 � Presenting the �Interim Budget� for the financial year of 2011-12 in the State Assembly, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today sought vote on account on the demand for grants for an aggregate amount of Rs 11,741 crore, 42 lakh and 35 thousand to meet the Government�s expenditures during the period between April 1 to July 31 of the Financial Year 2011-12.
Significantly, deviating from the practice of presenting a brief estimated account for the purpose, the Chief Minister presented his vote on account proposals in a manner, which is used to present a full-fledged budget.
He incorporated an agenda for the future in his speech laying stress on maintaining financial prudence, pursuing a sustained growth rate of at least 10 per cent per annum for the next two to three decades, generous rehabilitation package for the militants to pursue them to eschew violence, and to remove all infrastructure deficiencies by 2015, among others.
The Chief Minister said that altogether 30 schemes, including the 20 schemes he announced on January 1, would be incorporated in the interim budget. These schemes include creation of small and marginal farmers� development corporation, creation of rehabilitation authority for the erosion-affected people and formation of a water resource management authority.
Besides, setting up an employment generation and skill development corporation for the unemployed youths, construction of a state of the art old age home in each of the district headquarters, setting up a special care home for HIV-affected children, creation of a corpus fund for providing financial support to meritorious students for higher education are also proposed to be incorporated in the interim budget.
The proposals to set up a new engineering college in Golaghat district and medical colleges in Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar and Dhubri, upgradation of the Bongaigaon Polytechnic to an engineering college, establishment of a farmers� training cum demonstration centre at Patharughat, a museum of Darrangi culture, among others, are also to be incorporated in the interim budget.
The Government will also create a new department to look after the functioning of the newly formed development councils. It will provide winter coats to the Village Defence Party personnel and mobile phones to the Asha and Anganwadi workers and helpers, said the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister made it clear that going by the Constitutional propriety, he had sought vote on account on the demand for grants for a period of four months only, as the five-year term of the present Assembly would soon expire. Since the 2011-12 Annual Plan discussions have not yet been held, the Plan budget estimates mentioned in this interim budget are tentative, said the Chief Minister.
Similarly, he said, since the Union Budget for 2011-12 is yet to be presented, the estimates of Central transfers including the State�s share in Central taxes shown in the interim budget are also tentative.
Stating that he was always dreaming a vibrant and resurgent Assam, the Chief Minister, who is also in-charge of the Finance portfolio, said in his speech that he was always dreaming a vibrant and resurgent Assam.
Starting with an overdraft of over Rs 500 crore and an outstanding liability of over Rs 2,000 crore in 2001, he is now able to mobilize enough financial resources to achieve all round development of the State after liquidating all the overdrafts and outstanding liabilities. He is confident that he would be living behind a comfortable treasury balance on completion of his second term in office, said the Chief Minister.
The GSDP growth rate of the State in 2000-01 was 2.53 per cent at the 1999-2000 constant prices. This touched 8.08 per cent in 2009-10. The economic turnaround of the State is possible also because of the remarkable improvement in the law and order situation, he maintained.
