The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly passed on Wednesday asecondsupplementarybudgetof overRs 2,400 crore for the financial year 2018-19, mainly to disburse a bonus to farmers against paddy procurement in the ongoing Kharif season.
During the discussion, Chief Minister Raman Singh, who also holds the finance portfolio, said this was a historic moment as a special session of the Assembly has been called in the interest of farmers.
Due to its excellent financial management the BJP government has been able to pay a bonus to farmers simultaneously with the Minimum Support Price, Singh added.
The paddy procurement will start fromNovember 1, he said.
In the last 15 years under the BJP, the state recorded surplus revenue in 13 years and even the Reserve Bank of India extolled the state's financial management, the chief minister said.
The tax and Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) ratio shows the financial management of a state, and in 2017-18, this ratio for Chhattisgarh was 19 per cent in comparison to the national average ratio of 12 percent, Singh said.
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As per an RBI report, the total loan-burden of the state is 17.4 percent of GSDP, while the average national ratio is 24.3 percent, he noted.
Similarly, the interest payment by Chhattisgarh government is merely 1.1 percent of GSDP in comparison to average 1.7 percent of other states, he said.
After the discussion, demand proposals of Rs 2,433.78 crore for the second supplementary budget for the financial year 2018-19 were passed with a voice vote.
With this the size of annual state budget went up to Rs 94,775 crore for financial year 2018-19.