With the State Finance Minister Prakash Pant having sought suggestions from the people of all sections of the society regarding the upcoming state budget, the people from cross- sections of the society this correspondent talked to stressed on job generation for the unemployed, measures to rein in the spiralling prices of essential commodities and steps to give relief to the farmers smarting under the loan payment stress among others.
Notably, the finance ministry of the state is now engaged in drawing the contour of the budget 2018 with the the budget session of the Assembly slated to start on February 20. While the session would be held from February 20 to February 23 in Dehradun the same would be held at Gairsain in Chamoli district from March 14 to March 28.
The people across the societal spectrum- students, teachers, farmers, housewives, working women, transporters and traders- said that they are looking forward to the maiden full-fledged budget of the BJP government with a great hope.
Ramesh Semwal, a student of DBS (PG) College, said that the education sector, often ignored, now requires a boost. “As we need jobs after we complete education we also need good academic ambience and adequate infrastructure in the educational institutions we are studying in. Teachers’ crunch is a major problem plaguing us. Besides, there is either no infrastructure like permanent buildings or what is left of the infrastructure is crumbling. It is time to say a firm no to populist profligacy. The state government should stop announcing establishment of new schools, colleges and universities and instead focus on the existing ones, revamping infrastructure and filling the vacancies in the faculty.
Besides, the quality of the faculty is dismal. Most of the students lack in-depth knowledge thanks to the poor quality of the teaching staffers. This lands us in problems when we look out for jobs after passing out of the colleges or universities. Skill development- based programmes should be started so as to enable us to join the industrial units. Small scale industries should be set up too to meet the rising demands of jobs,” he said.
A Paltan Bazaar- based trader Aman Singh said that they have hardly any expectation regarding the upcoming state budget. “Given the present situation, post GST, the state government can hardly give any relief to us. This is what is making things gloomier for us. We perforce look to the Centre to announce some relief for us vis-a-vis GST,” he said.
Alpana Nigam, an associate professor of a government- aided college in Dehradun, said that adequate funds should be provided in the budget for rejuvenating the economy of the of mountainous parts of the state. “Small and cottage industries should be set up there. Besides, the farmers require some props from the state government to raise their income from farming. Things are dismal in the hills on the front of agriculture. We are expecting some push to herbal and organic farming. Road connectivity being very poor in the hills, the state government should step in with new projects,” she said.
KN Bhatt, a retired bank officer residing in Jogiwala, said that the migration problem continuing unabated, the state government should revamp education and medical services. “Besides, the state government should announce moves to set up small- scale and cottage industries in the hills. Home-stays should be encouraged to help the locals derive benefits from the tourists who flock to the state all the year round,” he said.
Urmila, a homemaker from Raipur, said that they expect the government to curb the rising prices of the kitchen items with a heavy hand. “The hike in the fuel prices leaves a cascading effect on the prices of the edible items like vegetables and fruits which makes it tough for us to manage kitchen with our limited means,” she said.
Anuradha Bisht from Chamoli, who is working in a government office in Dehradun, said that the state government should control liquor consumption in the hills while forgetting the excise revenue. “We all know how boozing leads to domestic violence, ruining family life,” she said.
VV Chaurisia, associate professor, Economics, DAV (PG) College, said that the state government would have a tough challenge ahead to generate additional revenue while reducing unproductive expenditure. He slammed the successive state governments for enacting ‘sentimental drama’ by holding Assembly sessions at Gairsain. “If this is stopped the state exchequer would be spared spending horrendous amounts on the cheap melodrama staged in the name of sessions,” he said.