Shimla, Mar 9 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday told the Assembly that welfare schemes for the public were initiated by his government in its first year itself.

Replying to the budget discussion in the House, Thakur said the budget for 2022-23 presented in the state Assembly on March 4 is not an election budget.

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Welfare schemes were not just declared in this year's budget but they had been started from the first year of his government, the chief minister said.

The opposition Congress staged a walkout from the House amid Thakur's reply to the budget discussion.

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Thakur said his government had lowered the age limit from 80 to 70 for old age pension in its first year. It was further decreased to 60 years in the budget for 2022–23.

The Mukhya Mantri Grihini Suvidha Yojana was also launched in the first year of his government under which 3.25 lakh gas connections had been provided, he added.

Similarly, Himcare, Sahara Yojana and several other welfare schemes were launched in the initial years of his government, Thakur said.

There was no burden on the state government while preparing the budget in the election year as it has launched several welfare schemes with consistency, he added.

On the contrary, Thakur said, the previous Congress government had laid foundation stones of various projects in the last year of its tenure without allotment of any land.

Thakur said the total loan taken by his government in its four years is Rs 5,384 crore less than the authorised limit.

On an expected growth rate of 8.3 per cent in 2021-22 from minus 6.2 per cent in the COVID-19-hit 2020-21, he said the expected growth in several other states is also on similar lines.

The chief minister said Rs 450 crore had been spent on old age pension during the previous Congress government, while Rs 1,300 crore has been spent on the same by the current government.

The planned outlay in four years of the current government is Rs 40,229 crores, which is much more than Rs 24,200 crores during the previous Congress government from 2013-14 to 2018-19, he added.

The chief minister said the BJP would again come to power by winning the upcoming Assembly elections slated to be held in November this year.

A total of 49 MLAs -- 25 from the ruling BJP, 22 from the Congress, lone CPM MLA Rakesh Singha and Independent Hoshiar Singh -- took part in the budget discussion which continued for over 17 hours.

(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)