Bandhu Prakalpa | Hasir Alo | Chai Sundari Scheme in West Bengal Budget 2020-2021
After the declaration of the Union Budget by the central Finance Minister, it is the turn of the state governments to announce their respective budgets. On the 10th of February, 2020, the Finance Minister of West Bengal, published the West Bengal Budget 2020 – 2021. The budget stressed on the implementation of new schemes and the maintenance of existing welfare projects, which will pave the path for the betterment of the residents of the state. The Finance Minister of West Bengal highlighted that the state will take the necessary precautions to implement three new schemes. Here is a list of the benefits, which were discussed during the budget presentation.
Bandhu Prakalpa Scheme
It is a pension scheme that has been targeted towards the people, who belong to the Schedule Caste categories. The Finance Minister said that the state will provide the beneficiaries with a monthly pension of Rs. 1000. To become a beneficiary of this project, the applicant must have attained the age of 60 years. The state finance department has set aside a whopping sum of Rs. 2,500 crore for the implementation of this scheme. When implemented, around 4 lakhs SC candidates will be able to receive this pension.
Hasir Alo Scheme
The scheme targets those rural residents and financially weak households, which do not have power connection. The minister announced that the beneficiaries of this project will acquire free electricity connection. However, only those households will be allowed to partake in thus scheme, which do not use more than 75 units, on a monthly basis. The successful implementation of this project will require around Rs. 200 crore. The minister also highlighted that this welfare project will make offer free power connection to as many as 34 lakh needy households.
Chai Sundari Scheme
The West Bengal government has taken several initiatives to boost the health of the tea industry in the state. The Chai Sundari Scheme is another welfare scheme that will offer benefits to the people, who work in the tea plantations. There are around 370 operational tea gardens in the state. State reports suggest that over 3 lakh workers are associated with this industry. Most of these people do not have permanent homes. The scheme details highlight that the state will take the necessary measures, and construct permanent residential units for the tea garden workers. The implementation of this scheme will require around Rs. 200 crore.
Other plans of the state government
- The state budget also highlights that the government is keen on improving the educational sector. For this, the state will spend money for the construction of three different universities within West Bengal. Rs. 50 crore will be spent for the completion of this task.
- The state budget offers new benefits, which will improve the present condition of the small, micro and medium industries. The Finance Minister of the state highlighted that 100 MSME sectors will be set up. This project will be completed within the following three years. The successful implementation of this project will be able to meet the growing demand for jobs. The state government will spend Rs. 200 crore for establishing these parks.
- The tea garden owners need to pay an income tax to the state government. To boost the industry, the Finance Minister of West Bengal said that the state will not take the taxes from the tea garden owners for 2021 and 2022.
- Three civil service training institutes will also be established within the state. The names of these institutes are Jai Hind Civil Service Academy, Mahatma Gandhi Civil Service Academy, and Azad Civil Service Academies.
The West Bengal Finance Minister highlighted that the central government has not sanctioned the necessary funds for the development of the state. The total unsanctioned sum amounts to a whopping Rs. 89,000 crore. However, the state government has been able to work with the present resources, and maintained an impressive GDP of 10.4. The efforts of the West Bengal government have paved the path for the creation of 9, 11,000 job opportunities for the state residents. The state government will strive to keep up the good work in the up-coming financial years.
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