Guwahati, Mar 21 (PTI) Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog on Monday said that the state Budget for 2022-23 has put thrust on priority sectors such as education and health, while also focusing on revenue generation.

She maintained that funds have been impartially distributed for schemes and welfare programmes.

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Neog had on March 16 presented a Rs 600.36-crore deficit budget for the next fiscal.

Replying to a discussion on the Budget in the Assembly, Neog said, "We have attempted to place a realistic budget…It has given a direction to what our government has set to achieve."

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She pointed out that sectors such as education and health, which are integral for the overall growth of the state, have been accorded priority, and allocations have been raised for these departments, along with agriculture, horticulture and social welfare.

Neog stated that the government also focused on income generation.

It is looking to earn revenue from a number of key fields, including the Numaligarh Refinery and the forest, transport and power departments, the minister said.

She asserted that fiscal balance was maintained while preparing the Budget, and the audit final accounts would prove it.

The minister further said the "structured" Budget would ensure there was no problem in paying salaries to the state government employees.

"We have also made sure that the state gets to pay its share in central government schemes, and has adequate funds for capital expenditure," Neog said.

The corpus for contingence fund has been augmented to Rs 200 crore to ensure unhindered flow of funds in case of any emergency, she added.

Neog also rebuffed opposition allegation's of partiality towards constituencies of ruling coalition MLAs, and said that an old age home has been alloted for a constituency ruled by a Congress MLA.

A large number of beneficiaries who got their loans waived are women from minority communities, she contended.

The minister also defended the government's decision to opt for borrowings from different sources, stating that the loans were being taken to invest in measures that could increase the state's per capita income.

(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)