Jaipur: The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan presented the state budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year on Thursday.

With a significant dip in the outlay from the last financial year’s Rs 1,16,735.96 crore, the present budget estimate stood at Rs 1,10,200.82 crore. More importantly, the budget reveals that in many sectors such as education, water supply, sanitation and labour, the expenditure was less than the estimates provided in the 2019-20 budget. In the budget for the 2020-21 fiscal, sectors such as labour, social welfare and education face reduction in allotments.

Revised estimates 2019-20 reveals low spending

As per the revised estimates of 2019-20, the Congress government spent Rs 35,251.47 crore education, sports, art and culture combined, as against the allocated fund of Rs 39,212.02 crore. Even for the present financial year, the budget estimate for this sector has seen a decrease. The government has allocated Rs 38,604.91 crore.

Similarly, in the water supply, sanitation, housing and urban development sectors, the spending of the state government in the previous year was less than the allocated funds. During the fiscal year, the government spent Rs 8,272.73 crore on these sectors, which is significantly less than the Rs 9,410.09 crore that was set aside. However, for the present fiscal, Rs 10,104.01 crore funds have been allocated to these sectors.

Labour and labour welfare sector also saw cuts in state spending. Of the Rs 1,176.22 crore set aside, just Rs 952.98 crore was utilised. However, the budget estimate for the 2020-21 FY stands at Rs 1,363.66 crore.

In the medical, health and family welfare sector, the government slightly exceeded the allocation in the 19-20 FY. It spent Rs 12,2885.40 crore against the allocation of Rs 12,241.56 crore. In the current budget, the estimate is Rs 13,300.30 crore for the sector.

In the welfare of scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and other backward classes, the state spent Rs 1,990.74 crore against the budget estimation of Rs 1,670.94 crore. Despite an increase in spending, the government has marginally cut the budget this year, which now stands at Rs 1,666.94 crore.

For the social welfare and nutrition sector, the state spent Rs 12,772.29 crore against the allocation of Rs 11,499.14 crore in the last fiscal. The budget estimate this year stood at Rs 11,191.96 crore which is Rs 307.18 crore less than the last estimate.

Agriculture

While setting aside Rs 2,488.77 crore for the agriculture department, including Rs 1,041.48 crore for the weather-based crop insurance scheme, the government seems to be trying to mend its image amid the spate of farmer suicides being reported in the state. Though this amount is marginally higher than last year’s estimate of Rs 2,273.65 crore, it is still less than the budget allotment under the Vasundhara Raje regime in 2018-19, when it was Rs 2,582.70 crore.

The Congress, in its state election manifesto in 2018, had promised an alternative and more effective crop insurance scheme. Both the budgets – 2019-20 and 2020-21 – have remained silent on it.

Cows

The state government has set aside Rs 713.60 crore for the cow department, but only Rs 304.73 crore for the animal husbandry department. Within the cow department’s share, Rs 508.08 crore is provisioned as grant to gaushalas.

Under the Bharatiya Janta Party government in 2018-19, the budget of the cow department was Rs 291.20 crore, which received a hike of 145% under the newly-elected Congress government last year, which set aside Rs 713.94 crore in the 2019-20 budget.

Women and child development

The government has reduced its allotment for the women and child development department from Rs 2,748.41 crore in the last fiscal to Rs 2,352.77 crore this year.

Rs 384.30 crore has been allocated for women development programmes, including Rs 250 crore for the Mukhya Mantri Rajshree Yojana, a Raje-government scheme that provides benefits upon institutional delivery of a girl child.

Rs 1,968.47 crore has been set aside for child development services, which includes Rs 1,032.86 crore for the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and Rs 121.99 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Matra Vandana Yojana.

Social Justice

The state has also reduced the allotment to the social justice and empowerment sector. The budget set aside Rs 8,303.74 crore, compared to the Rs 8,790 crore allocated in the last financial year and the Rs 11,118.8 crore allocated by the Raje government in 2018-19.

Minority development

While the budget for minority development has slightly increased from Rs 144.08 crore in the last year to Rs 144.21 crore this year, it is still way behind the amount of Rs 243.60 crore allocated under the previous Raje government in 2018-19.

This year, the Congress government has set aside Rs 62.74 crore for madrasa schools and Rs 64.02 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakaram for minority development.

Other sectors

The rural development and Panchayati Raj department has been allocated Rs 11,878.04 crore which includes Rs 2,565 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Rural, Rs 1,988.51 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Rs 1,200 crore for the Swachh Bharat Mission – Rural.

The government, this year, has set aside Rs 10,059 crore for elementary education, which includes Rs 1,540.90 crore for the mid-day meal scheme, Rs 9,004 crore for secondary education, and Rs 322.99 crore for the college education department, which includes Rs 109.69 crore for Sanskrit education.