Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma praised the interim budget presented in Parliament by acting Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday whereas the Opposition Congress termed it a populist budget.
One of the most striking proposals of this budget is the allocation of Rs 6000 for the farmers who hold below two hectares of land area, Sangma told PTI.
He said in Meghalaya, 96 per cent of the farmers hold land below two hectares and therefore, will be eligible to take support under this scheme of the Prime Minister Kisan Yojana.
Broadly, this should be the most beneficial to the whole of the north eastern regions farmers, he said.
Sangma is in the national capital leading a delegation of political party leaders from the NE region to drum up support to exempt the region from the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Bill.
The Chief Minister also welcomed the creation of a separate department for fisheries.
He said, Since the whole of the north east and especially the state of Meghalaya is water-rich, it is necessary that we invest more of our resources in the fisheries sector to reduce our dependency on fish imports.
Referring to the increased investment in the RGM (Rashtriya Gokul Mission), the CM felt it would have a positive impact on bovine breed development as well as milk availability in the North East.
As a state that has only 83 gms/day milk availability, it is important that we catch up with the national figure of more than 300 gms/day of milk availability. It will be possible only when we can make the investments relating to the bovine development, he stated.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress here has termed the interim Budget as a populist and cosmetic one targeting the ensuing general elections.
Congress spokesperson Ampareen Lyngdoh said, The budget was expected to have tall claims and long promises and it was a populist and a cosmetic one.
Why did it take the government 5 long years to comprehend the woes of our farmers and then all of a sudden announce a slew of sops for them? she said.
Increasing the tax rebate for the middle class and pension scheme for the unorganised sector obviously indicates that it is an attempt to once again woo votes from a large chunk of the electorate albeit in a very wishy washy manner, she added.
Referring to the 21 per cent increase in allocation to the North East, she wondered how much of it will actually reach the states.
Do we know how much has been actually sanctioned and utilised from the last budget and is 21% sufficient for a region that is lacking in almost all sectors given the escalation in prices of everything? she said.
Quoting a line from a popular country singer Shania Twain, she said, It dont impress me much.
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