Budget will not help MP in any special way: Chouhan

Bhopal, Feb 28 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said that the Union Budget for 2007-08 was unlikely to benefit this state in any special way.

''Inflation will spurt and the benefit of development will not percolate to all sections and areas. The Budget imposed export duty on iron as per the Hoda Committee's recommendation but turned Nelson's eye on other recommendations such as enhancing royalty on coal, thereby not paying attention to coal-producing states including Madhya Pradesh,'' he said in a statement issued here.

Pointing out that the Budget did not create a system for compensating the expense on maintaining forest wealth, Mr Chouhan added that the state's jungle area exceeded the national average.

''The Budget says nothing about the change in guidelines regarding public-private participation in comparitively backward areas. One per cent cess on education will not benefit states.

Service tax on works contracts will have to be directly borne by the state government and will affect work such as that on roads and irrigation,'' he said.

UNI