Describing Haryana Budget as best ever State Home Minister Anil Vij said as a Finance Minister, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s annual Budget has vision and action while emphasis is laid on health, education and agriculture.
Vij said this Budget is dedicated to common man and has given special attention to health. Three medical colleges have been announced and there will be medical checkup of every person.
Also the Health Minister, Vij said sufficient fund has been allocated for health sector. The number of ventilators in Government medical colleges of the State will be increased from 190 to 400. Dialysis facility has been extended to all subdivisional hospitals. In all, 27 Advance Life Support ambulances will be added to the existing fleet.
Terming the Budget as “development-oriented”, Vij said it will take the Sstate forward on many fronts. Historic steps have been taken for the overall development of agricultural and education sectors. Interest-free loans will be provided to farmers adopting crop diversification. Apart from this, our Government has allocated around 15 per cent of the budget to the education sector. This Government is committed to the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, for effective implementation of various schemes regarding their socio-economic and educational development.
Excerpts from an interview:
You were present in the Assembly when CM was presenting his maiden budget for the State. What is your first reaction?
I congratulate Chief Minister for presenting best ever budget for the people of the State. It is growth-oriented and caters to service delivery. This budget has met all expectations of the common people. It is for the first time in the history of the State that the Budget was preceded by two-month-long detailed discussions with various stakeholders, including MPs, MLAs, industrialists, intellectuals, youth representatives and various sections of society. Out of 620 suggestions, 250 were incorporated in the Budget.
As children are our future so emphasis has been laid on education. 4,000 playway schools will be opened for children of 3 to 5 years. Our Government has allocated Rs 416.02 crore for employment department to generate employment for youth. Under Ayushman Bharat, 16,27,870 golden cards have been issued to benefit 5,84,487 families. The budget allocation has focus on sustainable farming. To check stubble-burning, parali procurement centres will be set up in every block of all affected districts. The Budget proposes to expand organic and natural farming to 1 lakh acres in the next three years. An allocation of Rs 8,770.18 crore has been made for Social Justice and Empowerment Department and Rs 519.34 crore for Welfare of Schedule Castes and Backward Classes Department. This Budget is bound to touch the lives of every person of the State. I am satisfied with the way efforts have been made to lend inclusiveness to every section of society through the budgeting exercise.
Unemployment is a big issue before the State. Opposition targets your Government on unemployment issue. What is special for youth in this Budget?
Special attention is laid on addressing youth’s concerns by adopting multi-pronged strategies. In this budget, Rs 416.02 crore has been allocated for employment department. To provide more employment opportunities to the competent youth in Government departments as well as private organisations, a special placement cell will also be set up for competent youth, which will create employment and skill opportunities for them. The Government will get a consolidated database of all the skilled youth, which can later be linked to the new employment portal. Provision has been made to increase employment opportunities as 2,000 modern sales centers will be set up at identified locations across the State on the lines of VITA and Hafed for the sale of food items along with packing and branding. Soil testing will be encouraged in all Government colleges and polytechnics to connect science with agriculture so that a society with a better scientific temperament is developed and more job opportunities are generated. To promote technical education and skill development, 24 new model industrial training institutes will be set up. To facilitate the students to secure jobs, their passport will be made free of cost. They will be able to secure learning driving license in the first year of college education.
Opposition terms this budget as directionless. How do you take on this criticism?
It is baseless criticism. Everyone, including political leaders should read the budget carefully. This is the best budget ever made in the State.
Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda says State’s debt has gone up to Rs 1.98 lakh crore. For the last five years, it has been increasing every year, which exposes the failures of this Government. Your comment.
Our Government has laid more emphasis on the creation of capital assets in the economy. We are spending extensively on capital investment to fuel the GDP of the State. This will bring development. If we stop taking loans, development will stop. So, deficit financing to sustain growth is not bad when these borrowings are within limits. Opposition leaders should also say what was State’s debt status when they were in power. Opposition has no right to say as we are today suffering due to their bad economic policies. I am repeatedly saying it is a progressive budget.
As an urban local bodies Minister, how much fund did you demand from the government? How much have you received?
In this budget, all the departments have been given sufficient fund. In comparison to last year, around 21 per cent additional budget has been allocated for urban local bodies. Our Government is determined to provide water at 135 liters per person per day. The target is to set up about 100 km of new sewer lines in the financial year 2020-21. We will soon develop a mobile application (App) to help people register complaints related to faulty streetlights, broken roads, a poor drainage system, garbage and houses without having proper drinking water facilities.
As a former sports Minister, how do you see fund allocation in sports sector in this Budget?
Lots of work was done in sports sector in the last five years. To motivate and encourage excellent sportspersons, provision has been made to increase their daily dose allowance from Rs 150 to 250, which will benefit 4,000 players. High Performance Training Center will be opened along with construction of sufficient number of hostels for the players.
Opposition raised the issue of increasing crime rate and drug peddling in the Vidhan Sabha. What is special in this budget for women and girls of their safety and security? What are steps being taken to check drug menace?
Government is committed to ensure safety and security of all citizens in the State. Continuous efforts are being made to check all type of crime. The universal helpline number ‘Dial 112’ will be made functional very soon for reaching to the police, fire brigade or ambulance services. With its implementation, police assistance to any needy person or women will be given in just 15-20 minutes. In this budget too, free travel up to 150 km for girl students from their residence to educational institutions and for this 36 buses are plying on 20 routes in Karnal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Ambala and Panchkula districts. Apart from this, 181 special bus services on 163 routes will be started for the convenience and safety of girls / women. ‘Operation prahar’ has been launched to check drug menace.
Complaints of Cyber crime are increasing day by day in the State. Have you received any grant to deal with it effectively?
Cyber crimes are posing new challenges to the police department. To curb the increasing incidents of cyber crime and ensure effective investigation, our Government has accorded sanction to the creation of 98 posts of police staff and IT professionals for the Cyber Crime Police Station and Cyber Forensic Lab functioning under the State Crime Branch at Panchkula.
How do you see economy of the State through this budget?
To make Haryana a preferred global investment destination, our Government has initiated major regulatory reforms through simplification of procedures, resulting in that Haryana today is ranked at the third position on All India level in the Ease of Doing Business Rankings and ranks first in North India. After studying the budget paper, you will find that State’s GDP would be Rs 8.31 lakh crore at current value which means that despite having 1.34 per cent geographical area and accounting for 2.09 per cent of the total population of the country, Haryana contributes 4 per cent to the national GDP. Similarly, during the year 2019-20 India’s economic growth rate will be 5 per cent on current value whereas Haryana’s economic growth rate will be 7.75 per cent. It is a matter of pride that today this small State of ours is proving to be a major engine for growth of India’s economy.
During Assembly session it was witnessed that many MLAs raised the issue of shortage of doctors, medical staff in their constituency. Does Government make any provision to address it in the Budget?
It is true that many MLAs raised the issue of shortage of doctors. I want to make it clear that we are taking steps to solve this issue. 447 doctors will be appointed in Government hospitals next month. We have also decided to appoint 342 more doctors on ad hoc basis, under which a MBBS graduate will be paid Rs 85,000 per month and specialists having three years experience will get Rs 1.5 lakh per month. To ensure availability of doctors, it has been decided that from upcoming academic session the MBBS students will have to sign an affidavit at the time of admission committing to two years of mandatory practice in Government hospitals.
As a Health Minister, what was your expectation from the budget? Whether your expectation met?
We are continuously working to provide better medical facilities. In this budget, sufficient fund has been allocated for health sector. Rs 6,533.75 crore will be spent for Health sector. MRI, CT scan, Cat Lab, chemotherapy and dialysis services will be provided in all district hospitals. Ultrasound facility will be provided at community health centre. Ventilator facilities for adults and children will be provided for all Government hospitals. A facility of 47 additional mobile medical units will be made. Free health check up for all the people will be provided which will be linked with family identity card. Online health card will be provided all the citizen of Haryana.
Haryana is an agriculture State. What are the facilities given to farmers in this budget? Your comment
For 2020-21, Rs 3,364 crore has been allocated for agriculture, Rs 1,157 crore for animal husbandry, Rs 492 crore for horticulture and Rs 122 crore for fisheries. The allocation has focus on sustainable farming and interest-free loan facility and provides facilities for women farmers. Through this budget, our Government has made it clear that we are committed to double farmers’ income.
Was it publicity stunt to present the Budget digitally? Your comment
Our Government has promised good governance to the people of the State. We are moving towards e-governance. As a part of it, every MLA this time was given a computer tablet that held the entire document for them to read.
It was for the first time anywhere in the country that tabs were given to legislators to read the Budget in digital form.