GUWAHATI: Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today, February 12 presented the Vote on Account Budget from April-July 2021 which comes ahead of the state assembly polls, as he slashed the prices of diesel and petrol by Rs 5 per litre and removed all the additional taxes on liquor imposed during COVID 19 pandemic.
This will come into effect from 12 midnight today.
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This is the last Budget of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government in Assam, which gears up for the ensuing state assembly polls, 2021.
Another major announcement made by Sarma in the budget proposal was to increase the monthly allowance to Rs 3000 in future under the ambitious Arunodoi Scheme. The finance minister said in the financial year 2019-20, the total expenditure in the state was Rs 81,088 crores.
He said the state government has been able to implement 68% of the proposals in the 2019-20 Assam Budget.
Sarma said that the Assam government spent a total of Rs 13,501 crores for infrastructure development.
Construction of a total of 870 bridges has been completed while 1,000 wooden bridges have been turned into concrete bridges, he said.
The Assam government has provided free rice to 59 lakh poor families. The finance minister said the state government will soon announce the increase in the daily wages of the tea garden workers of Assam.
He said the Assam government has been providing Rs 1,000 per month to a total of 1,60,612 disabled people of the state. He said a total of 12,56,698 people in the state have been benefitted from the pension scheme.
Regarding the Asom Mala project, which was launched recently, 890 km of roads will be constructed in the state, Sarma said.
The Assam government has received Rs 7,756 crores as royalty from the oil companies during the period of 2016-2020, Sarma said.
