Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday approved the General Budget for 2017-18 and the related Appropriation bill, authorising the State government to incur expenditure to the tune of Rs. 37, 939 crore from consolidated fund.

The assembly had been debating the provisions of the budget for Home, Police, Roads and Bridges, Education, Health and Urban Development for past four days and a number of cut motions had been brought by the opposition. Though all the cut motions could not be discussed in the house due to paucity of time and Speaker BBl Butail applied guillotine to end the debate on budget

The octogenarian Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, presenting his longest budget speech on March 10 had presented a financial outlay of Rs 35,783 crore for 2017-18. 

The Apporpriation Bill approved by the house on Thursday includes Rs 3936 Crore supplementary budgets and separate allocations for the Vidhan Sabha, Rajbhawan and Judiciary etc.

In his last budget before assembly elections in the state, CM had hardly left any stone unturned to woo voters, though he had termed it a futuristic budget. Announcement of Unemployment allowance in the  budget had been seen as another big stroke by the CM after announcing formation of second capital for the state in Dharamshala.

Announcements like setting up Software Technology Park in Shimla and Kangra, boost for Kiwi production and organic agriculture and other populist measures had been apparently targeted at next assembly elections.

Though the opposition tried to raise objections through cut motions on budgetary provisions for many departments but some of the cut motions were rejected without discussion and the budget was passed with majority vote on Thursday.