Gandhinagar: With an eye on the state elections, Gujarat’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Tuesday unveiled a populist budget that lays emphasis on rural development, irrigation and agriculture, without introducing any new taxes.

Deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the budget with an outlay of Rs1.72 trillion for FY2017-18, which is Rs20,327 crore more than the previous year. The overall budget surplus is estimated to be Rs239.16 crore for 2017-18.

The budget focused on areas of skill development and job creation. A provision of Rs866 crore was made for organizing 100 recruitment camps and for development of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to train 200,000 people.

The budget proposals also included providing computer tablets to all college students and polytechnics for a token sum of Rs1,000 per unit for which an allocation of Rs200 crore was made; setting up a tribal university in Narmada district; a special Rs1,000 crore package for medium and small enterprises; provision of farm loans at 1% interest; and Rs118 crore for conservation of wildlife and wetlands.

“Welfare of farmers is central to the development strategies of our government and we continue to build the edifice of socio-economic development," Patel said.

The state government will provide crop loan to farmers at 1% interest, which will be a major relief for them, Patel said.

A budgetary allocation of Rs6,400 crore was made for agriculture, cooperation and allied activities, an increase of Rs609 crore over last year. Of the 12.5 million hectares of cultivable land, only 3.8 million hectares were irrigated in 2000. In 2016, it increased to 6.2 million hectares and a budgetary allocation of Rs.5,745 crore was made by the state finance minister for expanding the irrigation network.

The government also announced a scheme to help farmers buy tractors.

“The budget is a populist one and it has been done keeping state elections in mind. But trying to replicate states like Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh by handing out doles shows the party’s desperation. The BJP has lost its popularity in the state and we have seen uprisings due to unemployment and other issues in the last two years. The budget is an attempt to lure voters in rural areas where the party seems to be on a backfoot," said political analyst Ghanshyam Shah.

Patel also allocated Rs438 crore for 2017-18 for the irrigation project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2016 covering tribal areas in Surat, Dahod and Mahisagar districts. Patel also allocated Rs1,698 crore for phase two of the ambitious Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation scheme envisaged by PM Modi in 2012 when he was chief minister of Gujarat.

An allocation of Rs5,100 crore was made for the ‘Sardar Sarovar’ project with an aim to convert Kutch’s arid land into fertile soil, the finance minister said. Patel also offered subsidized power to farmers with an allocation of Rs4,011 crore, and Rs400 crore for free power to village water works.

Terming demonetization as one of the most revolutionary reforms by the centre, Patel said that contrary to fear expressed by many, it has led to higher growth in the state’s revenues from value-added tax (VAT) as more taxpayers have come under the tax net.

“As against VAT income of Rs10,198 crore from November to January in 2015-16, we have received Rs12,424 crore from November 2016 to January 2017, registering an increase of 21.83%," he said at the beginning of his budget speech.

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