CHANDIGARH, FEB 6
Haryana today urged the Central Government to exempt Urban Development Authority from the provisions of Income Tax and enhance the capability of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) to finance infrastructure projects in the NCR.
The Haryana Finance Minister, Captain Abhimanyu, who was speaking in pre-budget consultations meeting of Union Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitely with Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories in New Delhi today, said that exemption to Urban Development Authority from the provision of Income Tax would enable it to achieve the objective of House for All, especially for weaker sections of the society.
He said that one of the main objectives of the NCRPB is to develop the infrastructure in the region at par with that of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Although, nearly 50 per cent area of NCR falls in Haryana, the financial assistance by way of loans to Haryana by the NCR Planning Board has declined from Rs 567.34 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 186.97 crore in 2014-15. The enhancement in the capability of the Board to finance infrastructure projects in the NCR would enable the States in the NCR to build infrastructure at par with Delhi.He also sought higher allocation of funds from Central Government and requested for faster implementation of projects of Irrigation , rural development and of Road Transport in the State.
The Haryana Minister also drew the attention of the Union Minister towards the agriculture sector saying that 55 per cent of the population depends on agriculture sector but there has not been any substantial increase in their income in last few years. Capt. Abhimanyu said that although the Government of India did extend some financial package to the sugar mills, there is a need for a substantially higher assistance from the Government of India for the sustenance of this sector to ensure remunerative cane prices in the interest of farmers.He said,” we look upon the Government of India to assist the State for implementing all major projects in the Irrigation Sector. The state of Haryana has not received any benefit under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) since 2008 despite getting approval of some of the projects by the Ministry of Water Resources.” He suggested that for each scheme there should be a single window system in Ministry of Water Resources with a fixed timeframe for scrutiny of the projects submitted by the State Government. Moreover, the Central assistance in AIBP should be increased from 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the total project cost.
Capt. Abhimanyu also urged the Central Government to restore the share of the Government of India under specific social sector initiatives like Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), National Health Mission (NHM).
Capt. Abhimanyu said that the Government of India has implemented specific social sector initiatives in the education and health sectors and had sponsored the employment of trained professionals. However, the states are now facing several issues relating to the burgeoning wage bills and establishment expenses for these employees.
While drawing the attention of the Union Minister towards unique scheme for the restoration of the mythical Saraswati river flowing in the state as paleo channels in the areas referred to in the Vedic literature, he said the Government has constituted the Saraswati Heritage Development Board under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister with renowned experts in the field as its members. He urged thr Union Finance Minister to make a substantial provision for undertaking such projects for restoring the pristine purity of our ancient civilisation.
While thanking the Central Government for announcing the upgradation of nine State Highways to National Highways covering 900 kilometers, he sought higher allocation of funds and faster implementation of projects for construction of road projects of national importance in the State. It becomes even more imperative as Haryana has to bear the increasing brunt of damage of roads and environment due to the heavy commercial inter State traffic diverted from the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
He said that financial assistance by way of loans to Haryana by the NCR Planning Board has declined from Rs 567.34 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 186.97 crore in 2014-15. He, therefore, urged the Union Finance Minister to enhance the capability of the Board to finance infrastructure projects in the NCR. This would enable the States in the NCR to build infrastructure at par with Delhi.
Capt. Abhimanyu said that although the Government of India did extend some financial package to the sugar mills, there is a need for a substantially higher assistance from the Government of India for the sustenance of this sector to ensure remunerative cane prices in the interest of farmers. Inspite of the unseasonal rains and hailstorm, the State produced a bumper Rabi crop of wheat in 2015. I am happy to inform the gathering that the State of Haryana has been conferred the Krishi Karman Award for rice productivity in 2014-15. The State is initiating several steps to build Agriculture Infrastructure and marketability of the crops.
He said, “we look upon the Government of India to assist the State for implementing all major projects in the Irrigation Sector. The state of Haryana has not received any benefit under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) since 2008 despite getting approval of some of the projects by the Ministry of Water Resources.” He suggest that for each scheme there should be a single window system in Ministry of Water Resources with a fixed timeframe for scrutiny of the projects submitted by the State Government. Moreover, the Central assistance in AIBP should be increased from 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the total project cost.
He congratulated Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister as the Indian economy is able to grow at 7 to 7.5 per cent in 2015-16 amidst the gloomy situation in the rest of the world.
He said that State Government is committed to “Sabka Sath – Sabka Vikas” as the basic principle of governance encompassing the vision of balanced growth of both geographical area and people of the State. The State Government has adopted a three pronged strategy, viz., (i) increased and equitable public expenditure and creation of social and economic infrastructure, (ii) targeted programmes for deficient areas and vulnerable sections of the society, and (iii) encouraging private enterprise and industrialisation in the entire State, he added.
Haryana’s annual average GSDP growth rate has consistently remained higher than the all India GDP growth rate. The growth of the State was 7.8 per cent in 2014-15 as against the all India figure of 7.4 per cent. The per capita income of the State is one of the highest in the country. Fiscal indicators have always remained well within the prescribed limits. In 2015-16, the fiscal deficit is expected to be 3.14 per cent. Similarly, debt to GSDP ratio is estimated at 18.91 per cent in 2015-16 as against the prescribed limit of 19.28 per cent.
However,he said that in the coming years the State Government will face a number of challenges, which will have an adverse impact on the quality of its fiscal management. The State Government has already given its in-principle approval to join the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) and will sign the tripartite agreement shortly. The takeover of 75 per cent of debt amounting to about Rs. 26000 crore of the Distribution Power Utilities and the impending decision about the revision of wages and allowances as a follow up of the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, as fine tuned by the Government of India, would increase the financial burden on the state exchequer.
He complimented the Central Government for achieving the goal of financial inclusion. He said that under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Haryana became the 4th State in India to achieve the milestone by covering all the 48.58 lakh households and providing them with a bank account by 18 December 2014. Till January 15,2016,as many as 52.6 lakh bank accounts have been opened and a sum of Rs. 1112 crore has been mobilised in these bank accounts. This has enabled the State to ensure Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of scholarships, social security pensions and several other benefits.
He said that Haryana welcomes the implementation of the recommendation of the Fourteenth Finance Commission to increase the untied devolution from 32 per cent to 42 per cent of the Central taxes and reduction in the number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes. This has made a major departure from ‘one size fit all’ and meets the longstanding demand of the states to provide the requisite flexibility to plan and implement their development schemes as per state specific requirements. He requested that next year, the Union Government may indicate allocation of funds under plan schemes, State wise, at the beginning of the financial year. This would improve the efficacy of budgetary exercise in the States.
He also appreciated the acceptance of the request of several States like Haryana to do away with the artificial distinction between Plan and Non-Plan from 2017. He said that the fiscal 2016-17 will be a remarkable year, in which GST as a path breaking tax reform, is likely to be implemented under the stewardship of Union Finance Minister. “As we are moving towards GST, it is suggested to prune the negative list and rationalise exemptions of service tax for a smooth transition”, he added. Further, the Central Government may evolve a mechanism for early payment of CST compensation for the previous years to create confidence among the States to implement GST. The Central Government also needs to commit the payment of CST compensation for 2013-14 and 2014-15.
He said that the new farm insurance scheme Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana would go a long way to provide financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops because of natural calamities, pests and diseases, to mitigate the losses in farm sector and the resultant distress in rural areas.
----balbirsingh227@gmail.com
Haryana today urged the Central Government to exempt Urban Development Authority from the provisions of Income Tax and enhance the capability of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) to finance infrastructure projects in the NCR.
The Haryana Finance Minister, Captain Abhimanyu, who was speaking in pre-budget consultations meeting of Union Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitely with Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories in New Delhi today, said that exemption to Urban Development Authority from the provision of Income Tax would enable it to achieve the objective of House for All, especially for weaker sections of the society.
He said that one of the main objectives of the NCRPB is to develop the infrastructure in the region at par with that of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Although, nearly 50 per cent area of NCR falls in Haryana, the financial assistance by way of loans to Haryana by the NCR Planning Board has declined from Rs 567.34 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 186.97 crore in 2014-15. The enhancement in the capability of the Board to finance infrastructure projects in the NCR would enable the States in the NCR to build infrastructure at par with Delhi.He also sought higher allocation of funds from Central Government and requested for faster implementation of projects of Irrigation , rural development and of Road Transport in the State.
The Haryana Minister also drew the attention of the Union Minister towards the agriculture sector saying that 55 per cent of the population depends on agriculture sector but there has not been any substantial increase in their income in last few years. Capt. Abhimanyu said that although the Government of India did extend some financial package to the sugar mills, there is a need for a substantially higher assistance from the Government of India for the sustenance of this sector to ensure remunerative cane prices in the interest of farmers.He said,” we look upon the Government of India to assist the State for implementing all major projects in the Irrigation Sector. The state of Haryana has not received any benefit under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) since 2008 despite getting approval of some of the projects by the Ministry of Water Resources.” He suggested that for each scheme there should be a single window system in Ministry of Water Resources with a fixed timeframe for scrutiny of the projects submitted by the State Government. Moreover, the Central assistance in AIBP should be increased from 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the total project cost.
Capt. Abhimanyu also urged the Central Government to restore the share of the Government of India under specific social sector initiatives like Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), National Health Mission (NHM).
Capt. Abhimanyu said that the Government of India has implemented specific social sector initiatives in the education and health sectors and had sponsored the employment of trained professionals. However, the states are now facing several issues relating to the burgeoning wage bills and establishment expenses for these employees.
While drawing the attention of the Union Minister towards unique scheme for the restoration of the mythical Saraswati river flowing in the state as paleo channels in the areas referred to in the Vedic literature, he said the Government has constituted the Saraswati Heritage Development Board under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister with renowned experts in the field as its members. He urged thr Union Finance Minister to make a substantial provision for undertaking such projects for restoring the pristine purity of our ancient civilisation.
While thanking the Central Government for announcing the upgradation of nine State Highways to National Highways covering 900 kilometers, he sought higher allocation of funds and faster implementation of projects for construction of road projects of national importance in the State. It becomes even more imperative as Haryana has to bear the increasing brunt of damage of roads and environment due to the heavy commercial inter State traffic diverted from the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
He said that financial assistance by way of loans to Haryana by the NCR Planning Board has declined from Rs 567.34 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 186.97 crore in 2014-15. He, therefore, urged the Union Finance Minister to enhance the capability of the Board to finance infrastructure projects in the NCR. This would enable the States in the NCR to build infrastructure at par with Delhi.
Capt. Abhimanyu said that although the Government of India did extend some financial package to the sugar mills, there is a need for a substantially higher assistance from the Government of India for the sustenance of this sector to ensure remunerative cane prices in the interest of farmers. Inspite of the unseasonal rains and hailstorm, the State produced a bumper Rabi crop of wheat in 2015. I am happy to inform the gathering that the State of Haryana has been conferred the Krishi Karman Award for rice productivity in 2014-15. The State is initiating several steps to build Agriculture Infrastructure and marketability of the crops.
He said, “we look upon the Government of India to assist the State for implementing all major projects in the Irrigation Sector. The state of Haryana has not received any benefit under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) since 2008 despite getting approval of some of the projects by the Ministry of Water Resources.” He suggest that for each scheme there should be a single window system in Ministry of Water Resources with a fixed timeframe for scrutiny of the projects submitted by the State Government. Moreover, the Central assistance in AIBP should be increased from 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the total project cost.
He congratulated Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister as the Indian economy is able to grow at 7 to 7.5 per cent in 2015-16 amidst the gloomy situation in the rest of the world.
He said that State Government is committed to “Sabka Sath – Sabka Vikas” as the basic principle of governance encompassing the vision of balanced growth of both geographical area and people of the State. The State Government has adopted a three pronged strategy, viz., (i) increased and equitable public expenditure and creation of social and economic infrastructure, (ii) targeted programmes for deficient areas and vulnerable sections of the society, and (iii) encouraging private enterprise and industrialisation in the entire State, he added.
Haryana’s annual average GSDP growth rate has consistently remained higher than the all India GDP growth rate. The growth of the State was 7.8 per cent in 2014-15 as against the all India figure of 7.4 per cent. The per capita income of the State is one of the highest in the country. Fiscal indicators have always remained well within the prescribed limits. In 2015-16, the fiscal deficit is expected to be 3.14 per cent. Similarly, debt to GSDP ratio is estimated at 18.91 per cent in 2015-16 as against the prescribed limit of 19.28 per cent.
However,he said that in the coming years the State Government will face a number of challenges, which will have an adverse impact on the quality of its fiscal management. The State Government has already given its in-principle approval to join the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) and will sign the tripartite agreement shortly. The takeover of 75 per cent of debt amounting to about Rs. 26000 crore of the Distribution Power Utilities and the impending decision about the revision of wages and allowances as a follow up of the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, as fine tuned by the Government of India, would increase the financial burden on the state exchequer.
He complimented the Central Government for achieving the goal of financial inclusion. He said that under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Haryana became the 4th State in India to achieve the milestone by covering all the 48.58 lakh households and providing them with a bank account by 18 December 2014. Till January 15,2016,as many as 52.6 lakh bank accounts have been opened and a sum of Rs. 1112 crore has been mobilised in these bank accounts. This has enabled the State to ensure Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of scholarships, social security pensions and several other benefits.
He said that Haryana welcomes the implementation of the recommendation of the Fourteenth Finance Commission to increase the untied devolution from 32 per cent to 42 per cent of the Central taxes and reduction in the number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes. This has made a major departure from ‘one size fit all’ and meets the longstanding demand of the states to provide the requisite flexibility to plan and implement their development schemes as per state specific requirements. He requested that next year, the Union Government may indicate allocation of funds under plan schemes, State wise, at the beginning of the financial year. This would improve the efficacy of budgetary exercise in the States.
He also appreciated the acceptance of the request of several States like Haryana to do away with the artificial distinction between Plan and Non-Plan from 2017. He said that the fiscal 2016-17 will be a remarkable year, in which GST as a path breaking tax reform, is likely to be implemented under the stewardship of Union Finance Minister. “As we are moving towards GST, it is suggested to prune the negative list and rationalise exemptions of service tax for a smooth transition”, he added. Further, the Central Government may evolve a mechanism for early payment of CST compensation for the previous years to create confidence among the States to implement GST. The Central Government also needs to commit the payment of CST compensation for 2013-14 and 2014-15.
He said that the new farm insurance scheme Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana would go a long way to provide financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops because of natural calamities, pests and diseases, to mitigate the losses in farm sector and the resultant distress in rural areas.
----balbirsingh227@gmail.com
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