The Jharkhand Government’s supplementary budget of Rs 7323.24 crore was tabled in the House amidst Opposition parties staging protest over State Government’s decision to withdraw the 2016 recruitment policy of former Chief Minister Raghubar Das. Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon tabled the second supplementary budget of the Hemant Soren-led Government.
The first supplementary budget of Soren Government to the tune of Rs 2,584.83 crore was tabled during the Monsoon Session of the House last year. The supplementary demand for grants for 2020-21 fiscal included Rs 996 crore for rural development, Rs 269 crore for urban development, Rs 352 crore for water resources, Rs 226 crore for agriculture, Rs 181 crore for women and child development.
The Jharkhand Government Budget for 2021-22 will be tabled in the House on Wednesday. Sources said that the Budget is likely to give focus on infrastructure projects aiming at creation of employment and welfare measures.
Earlier, on Monday, when the House resumed, the BJP staged a protest against the State Government decision to withdraw the recruitment policy and other decisions of the State Government.
The Opposition BJP reached the well of the House shouting slogans. As the Opposition members’ protest intensified the Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto adjourned the House twice.
The House was adjourned at 11.28 am till 12.30 pm and second time when the House resumed the opposition once again entered the well of the House with speaker,
Mahto adjourning the house for a second time from 12.48 pm to 2 pm.
Due to Opposition members protesting, the question hour of the second day of proceedings was washed out.
Amidst protests made by the Opposition BJP, ruling party Congress legislator from Mahgama Deepika Pandey Singh and Poreyahat MLA Pradeep Yadav raised the demand for increasing OBC reservation upto 27 per cent. On the demand made by Singh and Yadav, Parliamentary affairs minister Alamgir Alam said that the State Government is serious and looking into the demands of OBC population.
A committee has been constituted which is looking into the aspects of increasing OBC reservation.
The reservation to scheduled categories in Jharkhand is currently capped at 50 per cent, besides the recently-implemented 10 per cent quota to the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) in the general category. While the Scheduled Tribes (ST) get 26 per cent quota, Scheduled Castes (SCs) get 10 per cent and OBCs have 14 per cent reservation.
In the last Assembly election, all major political parties from national to regional level have promised to increase OBC quota in their manifesto.
While the BJP has talked about increasing the OBC reservation based on their population as per Constitutional limit, the Congress has vowed to increase OBC reservation limit to 27 per cent from existing 14 per cent.