Budget evokes mixed reactions

By Staff REPORTER

ITANAGAR, Mar 10: The 2017-18 Arunachal Pradesh Budget presented by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Friday in the assembly has evoked mixed reactions with the ruling BJP terming it as the best budget in the state, while the opposition Congress and Peoples’ Party of Arunachal (PPA) terming it as a continuation of earlier budgets.

The lone Congress member in the state assembly Nabam Tuki while terming the budget as a continuation of the plans and programmes of the previous regimes said that the BJP government should implement the announcement made in the budget in letter and spirit for welfare of the people.

“The promises made in the budget should not be mere lip service but should practically implement,” the former chief minister said.

While lauding the government for respecting his request to enhance the labourer wages, Tuki said, though an amount of 1000 per month was enhanced but it is a good beginning to start with.

PPA Legislative Party leader Takam Pario though appreciated the budget but expressed resentment for non-inclusion of the Green Field Airport project at Itanagar which he termed it as a ‘vital project’ for the state.

“There is no mention of the airport in the budget which proved that the government is not serious about connectivity to the state capital,” Pario added.

State government spokesman Passang Dorjee Sona while terming the budget as ‘People Oriented’, said that the 2017-18 budget is a departure from the conventional budget being presented in the assembly over the years as it touched every sectors for equitable growth throughout the state.

“It is a blueprint of reform and transformation,” Sona added.

Complimenting Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, state BJP President Tapir Gao said that the budget was historic as on one hand it has focused on the youth, farmers and weaker section of the society and on the other it highly focused on preservation and promotion of age old culture and traditions.

“In between we are also focussing on infrastructure growth,” Gao added.

Asserting that the budget has unveiled the biggest asset of the sparsely populated state, Gao said, “Our huge land banks that poor and rich owned  in abundance never had any real commercial value but change in land lease policy as announced means that everyone would have access to capital from banks.”

Further, he added that access to capital by cross section of society as the ‘game-changer’ that would lead to entrepreneurial enterprises which in turn would address the mounting unemployment challenge.

He also complimented the state government for seamless integration with the Modi led government’s agenda on infrastructural growth plan.

State BJP general secretary Jarpum Gamlin said, “It is a game changer budget provided it is followed through.”

“What set this budget apart from all the previous budgets, is the change in land policy that is set to unlock the commercial worth of land value, that in turn will trigger growth of entrepreneurs,” Gamlin said.