According to the Economic Survey 2017-18 presented in the State Assembly by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Uttarakhand is expected to witness a drop in its annual growth rate.
The survey which was presented for the first time in the history of the State in the Vidhan Sabha session predicts a drop in growth rate from 6.95 percent to 6.77 percent in the fiscal year.
The fiscal deficit is also expected to increase from 2.31 percent to 2.51 percent. On a positive note the per capita income of the State is expected to increase to Rs1,77,356 in the year 2017-18 compared to Rs 1,61,102 a year ago. Haridwar district with an expected per capita income of Rs2,54,050 tops the list of per capita income while Uttarkashi district with an income of Rs 83,521 is at the bottom of the list.
The average per capita income of the state is expected to be pegged at Rs1,77,356. On a gloomy note the survey informs that the unemployment percentage at seven per cent is more than 5 per cent which is the national average.
The opposition was on a belligerent mode on the report of the survey. The Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh questioned the authenticity of the data provided in the survey as there is a marked difference in the data provided in it and the data of NITI Aayog.
He also tried to put the State Government on the dock for big difference in per capita income in different parts of the state.
The senior BJP leader Munna Singh Chauhan however defended the data presented in the economic survey and termed opposition of Congress uncalled for and unwarranted.
He said that the survey is based on facts and a standard process of data collection is used in it. Munna Singh Chauhan challenged the Congress party leaders to a debate on any forum on the issue. He praised the state government for its achievements in different fields and said that the government has a consistency in policy.