Chandigarh, Mar 22 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said that the opposition has failed to understand the outlay of the state budget which is based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He said that the State Budget for the year 2022-23, passed by the assembly, is dedicated to ‘Antyodaya', and prioritises those at the bottom.

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Congress leader and former state chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda dismissed the budget promises as mere hot air. Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the budget session, Hooda, also the leader of the opposition in the house, said the BJP-JJP government believes in making only false announcements. "In every budget, government makes new announcements, thinking that these promises do not have to be fulfilled, and this includes the announcement of setting up medical colleges in every district," Hooda said. He claimed that the present government has not done any work except pushing the state into a debt crisis. “The state is buried under a debt of about Rs 3 lakh crore. The situation has become such that the government has to take loans even for routine works and repaying the debt,” he said.

“Despite this, the government has made big announcements in the budget. But the government has neither the money nor the intention to fulfil them,” he said. Hooda said that every section, including farmers, labourers, employees, small traders, unemployed youth, has been disappointed with this budget. “This budget will prove to be a failure in dealing with challenges like high unemployment, record inflation, economic slowdown, and the dilapidated condition of the economy,” he said. Khattar, who also spoke to reporters after the session, said the promises made in the budget were not mere “slogans”, and the government will fulfil those promises. "Launching an ambitious scheme like ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra' to ensure the uplift of the poorest of the poor is a fine example of this.

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“Every possible effort will be made to ensure that there is a roof over their head. The outlay has been prepared keeping this goal in mind," Khattar said.

(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)