Like the Monsoon Session, the question hour and calling attention motions have been dropped in the Winter Session due to paucity of time. The Maharashtra government on Monday proposed additional budgetary grants worth Rs 21,076 crore to meet projections of excess expenditure. The supplementary demands will be taken up for discussion and approval in the next two days of the Budget session of the state legislature.
According to the supplementary statement of expenditure, which was tabled by Finance Minister Ajit Pawar on the first day of the Budget session of the state legislature, Rs 16,200 crore has been set aside to repay the advances taken under the special drawing facility.
“The advances are short-term loans taken as required for the government expenses related to Covid and others,” said an official. The provision of Rs 2,650 crore has been made for pensions and other retirement benefits. The pending cases from last year are being cleared now, and this is why the additional provision for pension and other benefits is required, added the official.
The government has proposed an additional grant of Rs 826 crore for the Mumbai Metro project 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar), 2B (D N Nagar to Mandale) and 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri East). In January, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had unveiled the first indigenously-built Metro rake to be run on Metro line 7 and 2A when services on these lines commence in May.
Besides, the government has proposed Rs 242 crore for providing assistance to farmers affected by the Nisarga cyclone, Rs 400 crore to complete various irrigation projects in the Vidarbha region, Rs 561 crore for concession given in the electricity tariff for agriculture pump consumers and Rs 24 crore for renovation and other related works of Jalbhushan and Darbar Hall buildings at Rajbhavan among others.