Himanta Biswa Sarma presents Rs 1,193 cr deficit budget, says Assam govt will 'generate revenue to carry out development projects'

Guwahati: With rice at Rs 1 per kg and around 10 grams of gold for brides belonging to families with annual earnings of less than Rs 5 lakh, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the Rs 1193.04-crore-deficit budget  he has presented, will be taken positively by the people of the state.

“In this budget, there is no taxation proposal. It includes various development projects including capital asset creation. The people of Assam will take this budget positively and the government will generate revenue so that we can implement the budget in total,” he said.

The Assam budget 2019-2020, presented in the Assembly on Wednesday, broadly focuses on the areas of capital expenditure and social security.

Another scheme has been announced that offers a one-time amnesty to property taxpayers in Guwahati. If they voluntarily declare their building violations, a one-time settlement and regularisation of construction will take place against the payment of the building violation penalties.

Sarma in his 2019-2020 budget also announced a series of proposals and relief packages for the benefit of self help groups (SHGs) and for the economically weaker section of the society.

Sarma said that during 2019-2020, capital subsidy of Rs 50,000 on bank loans would be provided to 63,000 SHGs and they would also be incentivised to go for bank loans by providing an interest subvention of three percent.