India News | Maha Govt Presents Supplementary Demands of Rs 25,826 Cr; Bulk Goes to Ministries Headed by BJP

Mumbai, Aug 17 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday submitted supplementary demands worth Rs 25,826.71 crore of which more than Rs 11,400 crore funds are meant for the ministries headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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At Rs 4,700 crore, the bulk of the supplementary demands is earmarked for providing incentive benefits to farmers who have fully repaid their short-term crop loan as per the incentive benefit scheme, which is part of the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farm loan waiver scheme, 2019.

The crop loan scheme is implemented by the Cooperation department headed by Atul Save of BJP.

Of the total supplementary demands worth Rs 25,826.71 crore, the government has projected Rs 20,041 crore plus expenditure on the revenue account and Rs 5,748 crore on the capital account, as per the documents submitted in the Legislative Assembly on the first day of the monsoon session on Wednesday.

The government has not earmarked any funds to be released for farmers affected by floods, despite repeated assurances.

"The money available with the Relief and Rehabilitation Department allotted in the annual budget would be used for the same (to help flood-hit farmers)," said an official from the Relief and Rehabilitation department.

Apart from the Cooperation department, other BJP-controlled portfolios are also set to receive sizable amounts from the supplementary demands--a provision needed for government expenditure over and above the amount for which the legislature's approval was obtained during the Budget session.

The rural development department would get Rs 1,301 crore, the Home department Rs 1,593 crore, the women and child development department Rs 1,672 crore, the Food and Civil Supply department Rs 508 crore, the Tourism Development department Rs 551 crore, the Planning department Rs 500 crore, and the OBC Welfare Department Rs 235 crore among others.

All these departments are controlled by the BJP. Other ministries headed by BJP have also been allocated minor amounts under various heads, the documents show.

As per the demands raised by the state government, Rs 1,000 crore will be provided for the payment of interest on the loan raised by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for the construction of the Nagpur-Mumbai super communication expressway project.

A Rs 1,000 crore additional fund is meant for the share capital contribution to MSRDC towards the flexi-equity for this highway. A fund of Rs 500 crore has been provided under one umbrella scheme for organising various programs on the occasion of the 76th year of Independence.

Extending special financial assistance for the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), hit by a strike of employees which stressed for months, the state government has reserved only Rs 10 crore towards fuel expenses of motor vehicles in the Transport Commissioner's office.

A provision of Rs 1,000 crore has been made to distribute demand-related incentives under the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy, 2021.

Among the ministries held by the Shinde camp, the Public Health department tops the list with Rs 2,237 crore and the Urban Development department with Rs 886 crore.

An additional provision of Rs 840 crore has been made for urban local bodies as a grant-in-aid receivable according to the recommendations of the 15th finance commission.

A fund of Rs 8.80 crore has been allotted for the expenditure on advertisement and publicity of the Amnesty Scheme 2022 implemented by the Goods and Service Tax (GST) department and Rs 100 crore for the construction of the GST Bhavan building at Wadala in Central Mumbai. Rs 15 crore will be spent on the maintenance and repair of BDD 'chawls' and Rs 75 crore on celebrating the Marathwada Mukti Sangram Amrit Mahotsav.

The previous Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the budget session held in March presented supplementary demands worth Rs 6250.36 crore.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)