Rane presents tax-free, people friendly budget in Assembly

Panaji, Mar 7 (UNI) Goa Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane today presented tax-free, people friendly but Rs 752.64 crore deficit pre-election budget for 2007-08 in the State Legislative Assembly.

Terming the budget as ''pro-commonman'' aimed at overall development of the island state, the Chief Minister claimed that the deficit would be mopped up by mobilising additional resources, revenue and better tax administration.

BJP opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, however, described it as ''colourless, odourless, shapeless and directionness budget.'' The economic indicators showed the state was ''fast leading to a debt trap with about Rs 500 crore interest accruing on loans borrowed as against Rs 350 crore during my regime in 2004-05,'' Mr Parrikar said.

The new budget proposed to link Goa with gas pipelines for which a feasibility had been commissioned to assess the potential of energy utilisation both by the domestic and industrial consumers.

It laid emphasis on use of public-private-partnership model for attracting investments on mega projects to promote infrastructure such as monorail, international convention centre, north-south expressway, Goa Broad Band Network, hydel power generation, and oceanarium.

The budget announced several farmer friendly subsidies in a bid to boost agriculture which contributed a mere 0.98 per cent of the State GDP now to 7.7 per cent in the 11th Five Yar Plan.

It also offered tax concessions to benefit the women and school going children and sops for encouraging intercast marriages.

The budget, however, proposed to impose 0.5 per cent cess on gross electricity bill to net Rs 2.5 crore on consumers using more than 500 units per month to promote energy conservation measures and use of non-conventional emergy sources.

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