Rs six-crore Bengal budget placed amid Trinamool walkout

Kolkata, June 23 (UNI) West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta today placed in the state Assembly a Rs six-crore deficit budget for 2006-07, proposing a 24.5 per cent higher outlay of Rs 8,374 crore.

The Opposition Trinamool Congress staged a walkout towards the end of the Finance Minister's budget speech, demanding abolition of cess on petrol and publication of a white paper on handing over of agricultural land for setting up industries.

Pegging the State Domestic Product (SDP) at 8.5 per cent, Dr Dasgupta announced higher allocation in various fields, including industry, education, health and urban development and made a slew of tax proposals for an additional resource mobilisation of Rs 46 crore to largely overcome the Rs 52-crore initial deficit.

Dr Dasgupta also made projection for additional employment generation of seven lakh with higher targets of production in different fields.

Putting a major thrust on industry and Public Health Engineering, he doubled the allocations for both departments and announced a sizable increase in the budgets for health, education, agriculture and urban development.

While the allocation for Commerce and Industries Department was increased to Rs 175.81 crore from 68.53 crore, that for Public Health and Engineering was raised to Rs 296 crore from Rs 141.49 crore. The allocation for health was pegged at Rs 826 crore as against Rs 622.15 crore the previous year.

Dr Dasgupta made a provision of Rs 101 crore for improving the infrastructure in Secondary and Higher secondary schools and encouraging standard of higher education. He also proposed to enhance the plan outlay for Municipal Affairs and Urban Development from Rs 849.99 crore to Rs 637.06 crore and that for Panchayat and Rural Development to Rs 853.59 crore and to Rs 740.71 crore respectively.

Towards the end of his budget speech, Trinamool Congress members walked out of the House, alleging that the budget has no mention about abolition of cess on petrol, which the party had been demanding.

They also demanded that the government publish a white paper on handing over of agricultural land to industrialists.

UNI KDG SJC HS KP1948