Maharashtra budget 2020: Infrastructure development gets Rs 30,000-crore outlay

The first budget of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, presented in the assembly on March 6, 2020, seeks to provide a fillip to infrastructure development in the state, by proposing an outlay of over Rs 30,000 crores. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio, said the government intends to develop an economic corridor of international standards in Satara district under the Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC), project, which is on the lines of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). Along with Satara, the adjoining Sangli and Solapur districts will also benefit from the proposed economic corridor, he said, adding the estimated cost of the project is Rs 4,000 crores. The government has provided additional equity of Rs 8,500 crores for the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Corridor as a result of which Rs 2,500 crores has been saved from interest on project finance, Pawar added.

He said ‘in-principle’ approval has been given for expenditure of Rs 86 crores for launch of passenger transport from Mira Bhayander to Dombivli on Vasai-Thane-Kalyan route. An outlay of Rs 50 crores has been proposed in 2020-21 for the construction of a jetty at Radio Club, Colaba, under the Sagarmala programme for passenger transport and tourists, Pawar said. He said under the Sagarmala programme, construction of jetties for Ro Ro service in the coastal ports at Vasai, Bhayander, Kharwadeshwari, Manori, Ghodbunder, Narangi, Malvan, Borivali, Gorai and Ambadve is in progress and an outlay of Rs 65 crores has been proposed for this work during 2020-21.

He informed that Rs 1,657 crores will be made available for metro projects in the state for 2020-21. In addition to the Maan-Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar route under Pune Metro, two new lines – Shivajinagar-Shevalewadi and Maan-Pirangut will also be started, Pawar said. Along with this, the new Pune Metro line from Vanaz to Ramwadi will be expanded by extending the length of the line from Vanaz to Chandani Chowk and Ramwadi to Wagholi, he said. The length of the metro line from Pimpri-Chinchwad to Swargate will be increased and extended from Swargate to Katraj and from Pimpri-Chinchwad to Nigdi, Pawar said. More funds will be provided this year than the amounts earmarked in the last five years for Pune Metro, said the MLA from Baramati in Pune district.

A 170-km-long ring road has been proposed to divert traffic coming to Pune from Nashik, Aurangabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai and make vehicles pass from outside the city, Pawar said. For this purpose, an expenditure of Rs 15,000 crores is expected, including land acquisition, he said. “Work will start in the current year and the road will be completed in the next four years by MSRDC,” Pawar said.

Pawar said a provision of Rs 3,500 crores has been made to complete the Konkan marine highway in three years. He said the marine highway was planned keeping in view transportation requirements of the coastal region but the highway project has still not materialised. The Revas-Reddy stretch of the marine highway is still under development, he said, adding the entire highway will be concretised and bridges over creeks at Bankot, Kelshi, Dabhol and Jaigad will be constructed. “The government plans to complete the work in the next three years. Funds will be made available to complete the work through Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) in a time-bound manner,” the finance minister said.

Funds will be made available for construction of airports in Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Akola and Amravati districts, he said. New airports will be constructed at Solapur and Pune for which an outlay of Rs 78 crores has been proposed during 2020-21, the finance minister said. For the next fiscal year, an outlay of Rs 276 crores has been proposed for port development schemes, Pawar said.

 

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Maharashtra budget 2019: Government tables Rs 19,784-crore revenue deficit budget

Maharashtra finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has presented an interim budget for 2019-20, with has an estimated revenue deficit of Rs 19,784 crores and provision of a special fund for farm loan waivers

February 28, 2019: Maharashtra finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, while presenting the interim budget for 2019-20 on February 27, 2019, said that the state’s outstanding debt had increased to Rs 4,14,411 crores, which was 14.82 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), but maintained that the state’s economy was ‘sound’. The debt level of Maharashtra, a leading industrialised state, is among the highest in the country. As per the budget provisions for 2019-20, revenue receipts of Rs 3,14,489 crores and revenue expenditure of Rs 3,34,273 crores is estimated, he said. The Maharashtra government’s annual plan has been fixed at Rs 99,000 crores for the financial year 2019-20. Presenting the vote-on-account, which will have budget provisions for the first four months of 2019-20 (April to July 2019), Mungantiwar said in the state assembly that the government will try to keep deficit in control, by reducing unnecessary expenditure and making effective recovery of revenue.

“It is observed that whenever the pay commission recommendations (for government staff) are implemented, the state’s finances are somewhat stressed the next year,” the minister said, explaining the deficit.

Mungantiwar said the annual plan includes an outlay of Rs 9,208 crores for a special component plan, Rs 8,431 crores for tribal sub-plan and Rs 9,000 crores for district annual plan. The budget also provides for Rs 90 crores towards a skill development scheme named after late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. The final budget which will be presented in the next session (after Lok Sabha elections) will focus on farmers, the poor, women and youth, he informed the lower house. “Looking at the state economy’s size, it can be said that the current debt level is reasonable as per the established fiscal benchmarks,” he mentioned.

See also: BMC presents Rs 30,692-crore budget, with focus on infrastructure, health and education

Reacting to the proposals, Niranjan Hiranandnai, national president of NAREDCO said that the positives for real estate include the allocation of Rs 6,895 crores for the PMAY or ‘Housing for All‘ scheme. “This is a positive move and we should see more home seekers in the segment getting their dream homes. Infrastructure and connectivity will also gain, as a result of other allocations and these will help buyers of affordable homes in peripheral areas connect with their work places,” he added.

The Maharashtra finance minister also announced allocation of Rs 2,400 crores for Swacch Maharashtra and Amrut Cities scheme; Rs 101 crores for development of state transport bus stands across the state; Rs 26 crores for the Sagarmala Project under which jetties have to be built at various spots; Rs 3,700 crores for roads under hybrid annuity and Rs 8,500 crores for the development of roads and highways. The interim budget brings in positives for the state in general and infrastructure, which will positively impact the real estate sector, Hiranandani added.

According to fiscal indicators, the financial position of a state is considered healthy, if the quantum of debt is below 25 per cent of GSDP, Mungantiwar said, in the budget speech. The government has been successful in keeping the debt quantum below 15 per cent of GSDP for 2018-19, he said. The minister said 2017-18 was the first year of implementation of GST and a revenue of Rs 90,000 crores was expected from this tax. Due to cooperation of farmers, merchants, workers and industrialists, the actual revenue was Rs 1,15,000 crores, he said. Mungantiwar said last year, the farmers’ loan waiver scheme, known as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana, was not included in the original budget. It was introduced later, for which Rs 16,095 crores was to be provided. Despite this, Rs 2,082 crores was the revenue surplus, he said. He said the revenue deficit for 2017-18 was Rs 14,960 crores against the estimated Rs 15,374.90 crores.

Rohit Poddar, managing director of Poddar Housing and Development Ltd, termed the state’s budget as a compelling one, which supplements the budget presented by the central government. “The allocation of Rs 8,500 crores for the development of roads and highways, will not only ensure seamless commute but also have a positive impact on real estate sector. The budget has been presented on the backdrop of the general elections and the state government has continued its commitment towards the affordable housing sector, by handing out a boost to the PMAY and Housing for All scheme of the government, with the current allocation of Rs 6,895 crores. The allocation for Swacch Maharashtra and Amrut City will make people in Maharashtra environment-conscious, leading to a less polluted state. Overall, it is a comprehensive budget incorporating growth of every sector. A huge chunk of the budget has been allocated for the infrastructural development which will push growth,” he concluded.

(With additional inputs from Housing News Desk)