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Tax4india ›› VAT›› VAT In India ›› VAT In Madhya Pradesh
BHOPAL: Fourteen months after the saffron party surged to power in Madhya Pradesh by raising the issue of infrastructural development, the government's second budget has also accorded utmost priority to the same, but the main Opposition Congress today described the annual financial statement, 2005-6 as 'anti-poor'.
Foodgrains spared from VAT, no tax for 10 items, focus on irrigation
The foodgrain sector will not come under VAT's ambit, with a view to ensuring that the poor people receive a proper diet. The Rs 214.03-crore deficit budget foresees an expenditure of Rs 26,340.81. Ten minor items shall also be tax-free.
Madhya Pradesh's 230 MLAs got a bonanza as their fund for developing their constituencies was hiked from Rs 40 Lakh to Rs 60 lakh annually.
A levy was imposed on mineral-rich land and the annual earning of about Rs 150 cr was expected to be used for developing backward regions.
''When the BJP government took over, the state's coffers were empty and an Overdraft situation prevailed,'' Mr Raghavji told the Assembly.
The regime decided to bear Rs 1,800 cr pending loans of the State Electricity Board, Madhya Pradesh's largest PSu. A sum of Rs 941 cr was earmarked for constructing roads and bridges while Rs 96.41 cr were set aside for repairing 5,600 Km.
Focussing on irrigation, the budget earmarked Rs 1,735.48 cr for the sector. Approval was received for a water sector- restructuring project - with WB assistance of Rs 1,919 cr - for rejuvenating irrigation schemes. A sum of Rs 1,253 cr was proposed for education. An industrial policy was announced in the previous fiscal and thus far the government has received investment proposals of Rs 12,500 cr, displaying a marked positive change in investors' approach.
A 1,000-ha Sez was coming up near Indore, while the government was seriously considering granting greater facilities for setting up a BPCL Refinery within backward Bundelkhand, a proposal pending for a decade.
Focussing more on irrigation, the government set aside Rs 1,735.48 cr for the sector and added that there were plans to provide irrigation facilities over 1.5 lakh hectatre additional area.
Approval was received for a water sector-restructuring project with WB assistance of Rs 1,919 cr for rejuvenating irrigation schemes.
A sum of Rs 1,253 cr was proposed for education. Construction of 5,734 primary school buildings, completing pending work on 5,500 buildings and constructing 10,000 additional rooms will be taken up while Rs 171 cr were allocated for the mid-day meal.
Rs 6 cr shall be expended on completing government college buildings that were under construction while Rs 2.64 Cr were made available for an electronic library and work of delivering lectures in 50 colleges, through satellite, has also started.
Two polytechnic colleges would come up at Shivpuri and dewas this year while a WB scheme is aiding a programme to improve technical knowhow. The textbooks corporation, which succeeded in saving Rs 3.3 cr last year, decided to reduce product cost by 5 pc. The saffron party government, which granted 44,200 scholarships in 2004-5 to those studying Sanskrit from 9th to 12th standard, intends to appoint 900 Sanskrit teachers.
Referring to renowned german scholar friedrich Max Muller, Mr Raghavji said, ''the indians are rich due to their Powerul language Sanskrit.''
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