M’laya BJP terms budget pro-farmer & pro-poor

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG, Feb 3: The state unit of the BJP on Friday termed the Budget as “pro farmer and pro poor”. “It is a historical budget. For the first time allocations for the farmers and poor is at an all time high,” BJP state unit, vice-president Gagan Jain said.

Jain pointed out that even though there was nothing specific as such fr the northeast, however the budget for the Tribal Ministry has been allotted Rs. 36,000 Crore which is up by 34 percent.

The BJP leader from the state also said that the SCs, STs and women can take benefit of the Mudra Loan Scheme which has been doubled to Rs. 2,44,000 crore since last year’s budget.

He also said that MAT credit carry forward increased by five years - will benefit industries in northeast.

Jain pointed out that under the agriculture sector the budget gave Rs 10 lakh crore as credit to farmer with 60 days interest waiver. Also the BARD fund is to be increased to Rs 40,000 crore. This year’s budget the irrigation corpus has been increased from Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 40,000 crore.

Meanwhile, for the rural sector over Rs 3 lakh crore spend is being spent for rural India. He also pointed out that in this year’s budget the government is targeting to bring 1 crore household out of poverty by 2019 even as Rs 48500 crore has been allotted for MGNREGA to double farmers income which is at an all time high.

Jain also said that the participation of women in MGNREGA has gone up to 55 percent.

The vice-president of the BJP state unit also said that the budget proposes to complete 1 crore houses for those without homes and Rs 19,000 crore had been allotted for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yoja in 2017 – 18.  

Jain also claimed that the country is well on its way of achieving 100 percent rural electrification by March 2018 and that sanitation coverage in rural areas has gone up from 42 percent in October 2014 to 60 percent now.