Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance and planning departments, on the first day of the five-day budget session of the state legislature on Monday, presented supplementary demands worth Rs 8,609.17 crore against Rs 55,520.77 crore tabled in the winter session last year. Of the 8,609.17 crores, supplementary demands worth Rs 5,665.48 crore are for mandatory spending, Rs 2,943.69 crore for various programmes and Rs 0.0017 crore for state funding under the Central Government-sponsored programmes.
Despite supplementary demands of Rs 8,609.17 crore, the net burden will be Rs 6,591.45 crore, for which additional resources are not available from the government.
The finance department is on top with the largest allocation of Rs 1,871.63 crore, followed by the revenue department of Rs 1,798.58 crore, the energy department of Rs 1,377.49 crore, the law and judiciary department of Rs1,328.87 crore, the urban development department Rs 1,176.42 crore, planning department Rs 476.27 crore, home department Rs 278.84 crore, agriculture and animal husbandry Rs 204.76 crore and public work department Rs 95.48 crore.
In a bid to lure farmers and consumers of hand looms and power looms in the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the government has earmarked Rs 2,031.15 crore towards subsidy for energy supplied to agricultural pumps, handlooms, and power looms consumers served by the state-run power distribution company MahaVitaran. The government has earmarked financial assistance worth Rs 2,210.30 crore to the farmers for the damage caused to crops and horticulture due to unseasonal rains, hailstorms and thunderstorms.
The government has provided Rs 2,019.28 crore towards loans to urban bodies under the Urban Infrastructure Development Fund from the nationalised banks. Nearly Rs 1,438.78 crore have been earmarked for the payment of arrears of loans to Mumbai Metro phase 3, Nagpur Metro and Pune Metro lines. The government has earmarked Rs 1,328.33 crore for arrears of various allowances provided to judicial officials as per the Reddy Commission.
Further, the government has earmarked Rs 800 crore (revenue and capital) for providing civic amenities by municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
The government has earmarked Rs 485 crore to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation for employee salary, Rs 432.85 crore for pension and other retirement benefits of judges from the high court, Rs 384.41 crore to various irrigation development corporations, Rs 381.07 crore to the public health department for the construction of new urban hospitals, Rs 256.86 crore towards contribution by the Centre and the state under National Rural Health Campaign, Rs 251.07 crore to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation towards transport cess, Rs 248 crore towards subsidy for milk and milk powder, Rs 200 crore each for repairs of district roads, government buildings and to Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank in connection with pending loans supplied to various cooperative sugar factories who had received government guarantee.
Further, the government has earmarked Rs 177.50 crore for the repairs and construction of various government medical colleges, Rs 150 crore for railway protection construction, Rs 128 crore for railway protection works and Rs 100 crore for municipal councils and municipal corporations for road improvement works.
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