AAP govt presents Rs 60,000 cr budget for 2019-20

The AAP government on Tuesday presented a Rs 60,000 crore budget for 2019-20 laying emphasis on the education, health and transport sectors and said it is "two times more" than the one presented in 2014-15.

Presenting the budget in the Delhi Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the budget is dedicated to soldiers martyred in the Pulwama attack.

The Delhi Assembly session began with a standing ovation to the Indian Air Force for carrying out pre-dawn air strikes on terror camps inside Pakistani territory.

"I salute the bravery of Indian Air Force pilots who have made us proud by striking terror targets in Pakistan," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet.

"The budget estimates for 2019-20 are pegged at Rs 60,000 crore which is two times more than the budget presented in 2014-15," Sisodia said.

Sisodia announced an allocation of Rs 100 crore for providing Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.

Sisodia said Delhi is the first state to implement Swaminathan Commission report on farming sector.

"For providing 1.5 times of MSP to farmers of Delhi, as per Swaminathan Commission report, the 2019-20 budget allocates Rs 100 crore," he said.

The AAP government also allocated over Rs 15,000 crore to the education sector for 2019-20.

Allocation for entrepreneurship plans, the introduction of the family business curriculum, setting up of teachers training university and an applied science university are among the various initiatives announced in the budget.

The deputy chief minister said the free wifi project of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government would start in the next financial year.

The AAP claimed that the budget of 2014-15 was Rs 30,940 crore while last year a budget of Rs 53,000 crore was presented.

He also advocated full statehood for Delhi, saying it was denied by the Centre, leading to the problems of recruitment of teachers, doctors, and other employees, opening schools and hospitals.

He said Jan Lokpal would have been appointed if Delhi had full statehood.

Under the doorstep delivery programmes, 100 services would be brought under it, Sisodia said adding that Rs 500 crore has been allocated in the budget for the CCTV project.

There has been an increase of 73% in the budget for infrastructure projects and in the transport sector, Sisodia said adding that 4,000 new buses are being procured by the government which would materialise by the next financial year.

The deputy chief minister said Rs 100 crore has been allocated for a state electric vehicle fund. An amount of Rs 7,485 has been allocated for the health sector, he said adding that a new scheme will also be launched to provide financial help to differently abled parents for the marriage of their daughters.

The deputy chief minister said Rs 600 crore has been allocated for development work in unauthorised colonies while the total outlay for the transport sector has been kept at Rs 1,807 crore, which is twice than the last fiscal.

Elaborating about the environment sector, he said a new policy would be started to ensure that 80 per cent of trees that has to be cut to set up a business has to be replanted.