Give ideas for preparing a people’s budget and win prizes, the Arunachal Pradesh government has announced.
The frontier State’s Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Saturday launched www.arunachalbudget.in , an interactive website that presents infographics on the budget for the 2017-18 fiscal.
Mr. Khadu said the website is a first of its kind in the region, created for commoners to surf and provide ideas to make a people-friendly budget. The best three ideas will earn rewards of ₹50,000, ₹30,000 and ₹20,000, officials said.
“We want to give every inhabitant of the state to participate in shaping the annual budget for the next fiscal. We want them to be part of Team Arunachal to take the state forward,” he said.
The budget session of the State’s 60-member Assembly is scheduled from March 9-16.
The website follows a series of pre-budget consultative meetings that Mr. Mein, also the Finance Minsiter, and Finance Commissioner Ashish Kundra had held at various forums and levels.
They decided that the government will consult all community-based organisations and other stakeholders before finalising the budget to be placed in the House.
“The decision was taken primarily to draft a need-based budget that caters to specific requirements of different zones of the state spread from the plains on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border to 15,000 ft above sea level in the Eastern Himalayas,,” a finance department officer said, declining to be quoted.
Mr. Khandu urged all, especially those with experience and knowledge, to submit their suggestions online through the portal and become contributors in shaping the roadmap for development of the State along with the government.
