The Hindu : Other States / Rajasthan News : No sops, only data in Governor's address

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Friday, Feb 04, 2005

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No sops, only data in Governor's address

By Our Special Correspondent

Photo: Gopal Sunger

The Governor of Rajasthan, Pratibha Patil, taking the salute at the guard of honour presented to her, at Vidhan Sabha before addressing the Budget Session, in Jaipur on Thursday.

JAIPUR, FEB. 3. The first-ever address of the Rajasthan Governor, Pratibha Patil, to the State Assembly on the opening day of its Budget session today was devoid of any announcements in view of the model code of conduct presently in force in the State for the panchayat elections. The hour-long address was instead full of facts, figures and details of the State's development.

Ms. Patil in her address concentrated on the achievements of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government during the last one year in the spheres ranging from poverty alleviation and human resource development to the generation of employment, social security, fiscal reforms, conservation of natural and cultural heritage and good governance. Even as the Opposition Congress staged a walkout during the address, Ms. Patil called upon all the members of the House to work unitedly for bringing Rajasthan to the category of developed States by "rising above political considerations". Ms. Patil said the State was progressing fast despite its difficult geographical conditions and limited water resources.

The Governor affirmed that an outstanding financial management had led to an improvement in the State's economy and an increase in the revenue collections by 19 per cent during April to December 2004. "The State has not faced the situation of overdraft during 2004-05 as a result of an efficient financial management," she said.

Referring to the size of the Annual Plans for 2004-05 and 2005-06, Ms. Patil said Rs. 6,922.50 crores and Rs. 8,350 crores, respectively, had been sanctioned for them, registering a significant increase. She said the size of the Tenth Five Year Plan was likely to be Rs. 1,000-crore more than what was originally sanctioned.

The Governor made a reference to the 18,613 drought-affected villages in 25 districts across the State to point out that relief works had been started in all of them from December 1, 2004, and the minimum wage had been increased from Rs. 60 to Rs. 73 per day.

The policy on allotment of fair price shops was revised and food stamp scheme launched to ensure food security.

Ms. Patil said Rs. 457.27 crores were spent on implementing as many as 16 State and Centrally sponsored schemes for poverty alleviation, rural development and employment generation till November 2004. Similarly, Rs. 120.26 crores were spent on the execution of schemes for desert development, wasteland development and watershed development.

The Governor described the steps being taken in the power, agriculture, irrigation, roads, infrastructure, education, health care, tourism, cooperative, dairy, biotechnology, e-governance, animal husbandry and industrial sectors while affirming the State Government's pledge for all-round development. "The people of the State have expressed their support to the Government's progressive policies by voting overwhelmingly in its favour in all recent elections," she said.

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