New budget will not put more tax burden on people, says CM

Ranchi: The upcoming state budget would be a step towards strengthening the foundation of Jharkhand, chief minister Hemant Soren said. Addressing a pre-budget consultation meeting at the Project Building here, Hemant also assured the people that his govt would not impose any additional tax burdens on them and arrange funds to propel welfare schemes through its internal resources.During his address, Hemant rued the Centre's decision to provide compensation to states for their revenue losses which were incurred after the implementation of GST. "GST is good for some states and bad for some. The Centre briefly gave the states compensation. Now, that has ended as well. All states have to fend for themselves and generate their own resources," CM said. The CM also hailed his govt's move to roll out the Mukhayamantri Maiya Samman Scheme, which promises Rs 2,500 as a monthly stipend to more than 56 lakh women of the state."It is a matter of reflection that while the Union ministry of women and child development provisions to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 26,000 crore annually in its budget, one state has pledged to spend Rs 16,000 for half of its adult population," he said. "I want to assure you that no additional burden will be imposed on anyone. We will mobilise our internal resources," he stressed.Tuesday's consultation meeting wrapped up the more than a fortnight-long effort by the state finance department to gather and filter ideas for the upcoming state budget. Over 1,100 suggestions were received from the public through its digital portal until January 16 while experts from various academic institutes and subject matter specialists also pitched in with their ideas.Finance department officials said Jharkhand had featured in a recent Niti Ayog report, which was published last week, among the five top states in terms of fiscal health index. "Jharkhand was ranked 11th between 2015 and 2019 but jumped to the fourth spot among 18 states in the 2022-23 financial year," state finance secretary Prashant Kumar said.Economist Harishwar Dayal said the state's per capita income was projected at Rs 1.14 lakh in the upcoming financial year while the state was expected to become a USD 10 trillion economy by 2029-30 FY.Chief secretary Alka Tiwari said realistic assessment of revenue was required while planning for the new budget and roadmaps were being put in place for the utilization of unused govt infrastructure.