Saturday, July 11, 2009

UNION BUDGET - M.P.SHORTCHANGED ?

In view of the improved showing of the Congress in the LS ele ctions , it was expected that the state may recieve some gifts in the Union Budget. However, none of that happened
and Madhya Pradesh has been ignored in Budget 2009 - there is no special package for the state ( In the light of its drought hit districts ) ; in some areas the provisions have been enhanced ( viz. JNURUM allocation for Bhopal - has been increased by 360 crores) ; in others they have been kept more or less the same ( viz. funds in women & child welfare ) ; in yet other areas the allocation has in fact come down( viz.Share of Taxes - by 460 crores ). The story is same in the indirect provisions - in some areas they've been raised ( NREGA , rural roads etc. ) ; in others , status quo is maintained (viz. agricultural loans) and in yet other aspects the state's share will come down (viz. GST).
In a sense, it appears that having different governments in the centre and the state is good for the polity but bad for economy- at least for the developing states.

No comments: