SHIMLA: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth and Sports Affairs, Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur said the Congress government in Himachal is poised to take a loan of Rs 11840 crores in 2023-24 to foot its huge debt bill, loans and interest”.
Reacting to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's green budget 2023-24, Anurag Singh Thakur said out of this loan of Rs 11840 Crore, the state government will spend Rs 11068 crore on repaying the old loan and interest”.
If the pace of the loan remains the same, by next year Himachal Pradesh will have a debt of more than Rs 84000 crores, Thakur claims
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh, Thakur's Green budget, Thakur claimed Himachal Pradesh government is going to spend Rs 5562 crore on interest and Rs 5506 crore on paying the loan instalment. The total amount comes to Rs 11068 crore, he added.
He said that there is neither vision nor direction in this budget.
Hamirpur BJP MP Thakur further said, "Ever since the Congress government came to power in Himachal, all the development works have come to a standstill”.
The BJP government's schemes have only been renamed.
The silence on many important schemes of Himachal such as Grihini Suvidha Yojana, Shagun Yojana, Sahara Yojana, Him Care Yojana and Mukhyamantri Swavalamban Yojana means that these schemes have not been included in this budget, he said.
Accusing the Congress of misleading the women, Mr. Thakur said, "In budget announcement, they have talked about giving ₹ 1500 per month to only 2 lakh 31 thousand women in Himachal Pradesh”.
“There is no provision in the budget for this too”.
"When this government was formed, 32 lakh women of Himachal were being talked about. This shows that this government is only misleading the people”, charged.
Further accusing the Himachal government of copying the budget of the central government in the budget, the Union minister said, "In the Union budget, it has been announced to build 197 medical colleges across India”.
The Congress government of the state wants to take credit for this, Thakur said.
“The central government has also made special provisions in the budget on energy and climate change. The Chief Minister wants to take credit for this by announcing green energy."
Accusing Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu of lying in the budget, Mr. Thakur said, "There is no mention of buying cow dung, buying milk or 300 units of free electricity anywhere in the budget of the state government”, he charged.
