₹1,300 crore allocation for development of indigenous communities, health scheme for all government employees, digital library at a cost of ₹40 crore and retirement age hike for Tripura State Rifles (TSR) troops by three years are some of the salient features of ₹26,892.67 crore tax-free budget for 2022-23 fiscal presented on the first day of the Budget session here on Thursday.
State’s Finance Minister Jishnu Debbarman in his Budget speech also proposed to increase the monthly social allowance from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000. He said the increase would benefit 3.81 lakh beneficiaries in the State.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb congratulated the Finance Minister for presenting a pro-people Budget and claimed it covered important aspects of the ‘Vision Document’ that the BJP had released ahead of the Assembly elections in 2018. He said the proposal to raise the number of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated Vidyajyoti Schools under Mission 100 would establish a quality education system in the Tripura.
Speaking to presspersons, Mr. Deb asserted that the budgetary allocations have also been made for infrastructure development including conversion of roads to two-lane highways in the subdivisions. He informed that the deserted airport at Kailashahar, headquarters of Unokati district, will be functional under the UDAN scheme at a cost of ₹600 crore.
Opposition walkout
The Chief Minister said the Budget, which is the last in his present tenure as the next Assembly election is due in February next year, touched the aspirations of people from all sections. He slammed opposition CPI(M) for staging Walk Out during the speech of Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya.
However, Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar clarified that they left the house as the speech did not mention anything on ‘deteriorating law and order situation and atrocities’ being committed on people at large. He also complained that the behaviour of some members of the treasury Bench undermined the dignity of the Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Sarkar also led a second walk out after landing in a verbal fight with Education Minister veteran Ratan Lal Nath. This happened at the start of a discussion on job allotment and vacancies in the State government departments.
