Haryana government on Thursday presented a tax-free state budget for the 2023-24 financial year with an outlay of ₹1,83,950 crore, an increase of 11.6% in comparison to the previous year.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal, who also holds the portfolio of Finance, presenting the budget in the Assembly, said the budget was focused on giving impetus to investment in agriculture, rural development, education, and health for an all-inclusive socio-economic development of the State. There’s no proposal to impose any new tax, he added.
“I am proposing a budget of ₹1,83,950 crore for 2023-24, an increase of 11.6% over RE 2022-23 of ₹1,64,808 crore. The budget proposes an expenditure of ₹57,879 crore on capital asset creation representing 31.5% and ₹1,26,071 crore on revenue expenditure representing 68.5%. The government has maintained a focus on increasing capital expenditure,” he said.
“In budget estimate 2023-24, I have projected revenue receipt at ₹1,09,122 crore, comprising of tax revenue of ₹75,716 crore and ₹12,651 crore as non-tax revenue. In tax revenue receipt, GST, VAT, Excise and stamp and registration are the major sources of revenue receipt. The share of central tax is ₹11,164 crore and grant-in-aid is ₹9,590 crore. Besides this I have projected capital receipt of ₹71,173 crore,” added the Chief Minister.
He said the fiscal deficit has been contained at 3.29% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in Revised Estimates (RE) 2022-23 as against the permissible limit of 3.5% of GSDP. For 2023-24, a fiscal deficit of 2.96% of GSDP is projected.
Mr. Lal said that with the inclusion of Haryana Parivar Suraksha Nyas, one lakh houses for Antyodaya families, an extension of CHIRAYU-Ayushman Bharat Yojana benefits for families with annual income up to Rs 3 lakh, an increase in social security pension from Rs. 2500 to Rs. 2750 and eligibility income increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, the welfare of every section has been ensured.
The Chief Minister announced a proposal of creating a Chief Minister fund for financial support to women startup entrepreneurs or those who come from families with an annual income of up to ₹1.80 lahks. He added that in 2023-24, the government has set a target of 20,000 acres for the adoption of natural farming of which demonstrations will be laid out over 6,000 acres. Also, mapping of every child in the 6 to 18 years age group is being done so as to ensure that no child remains deprived of educational opportunities, he said.
Mr. Lal also proposed to enhance the financial assistance to “Gaushalas” - housing stray cattle. “The provision for the Haryana Gau Sewa Aayog is proposed to be increased to ₹ 400 crore in 2023-24 from the present allocation of ₹ 40 crore,’ he said.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Congress’s Bhupinder Singh Hooda expressed disappointment over the budget, saying the budget is against “farmers, laborers, employees, small traders, rural, urban, poor, middle class, youth and housewives.”
“The budget has left every section empty-handed. The BJP-JJP government has reduced the budget to mere rhetoric because what is said in the budget is never implemented on the ground. The government considers the budget only a formality. It never shows seriousness about implementing the promises made in it,” he stated.
