The Hindu : New Delhi News : Budget directionless: Mukhi

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Wednesday, Apr 18, 2007
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Budget directionless: Mukhi

Staff Reporter

Jagdish Mukhi

NEW DELHI: Former Delhi Finance Minister Jagdish Mukhi on Tuesday termed the Delhi Budget 2007-08 a "directionless budget" that was also "anti-farmer" and "anti-development".

Speaking against the budget in the House, the Leader of the Opposition said it was primarily a budget of announcements that had been pieced together by the bureaucracy and so had nothing new to offer to the people.

"At least eight of the announcements made in the budget are a repeat of the past. These include the announcements to open Ambedkar University and a University of Science and Technology," he said.

Wondering what stopped the Delhi Government all these years from opening a new university, Prof. Mukhi recalled that when he was a Minister he had opened Indraprastha University.

The former Finance Minister described the budget as anti-farmer and anti-village because while the Plan layout had increased, the allocation for agriculture had reduced in percentage terms. Also, he said, the outlay for rural development had been reduced.

The budget, he said, was also anti-development as its non-plan outlay that primarily goes towards expenses of administration and bureaucracy and was non-productive was as high as 55 per cent of the total outlay.

"But the budget presented by Finance Minister A.K. Walia is directionless and appears to have been prepared by the bureaucracy,"

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