Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 17 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Monday strongly criticized the State government's budget, calling it 'directionless and a bundle of confusion.'

He accused the government of failing to provide any concrete details regarding central schemes, although most of the state's schemes are funded by the central government.

Jai Ram Thakur pointed out that, in the history of Himachal Pradesh's budgets, this is the first time that the state has recorded a mere 0.12 per cent growth. In contrast, he claimed that during his tenure, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the state's budget saw an increase of 7 per cent to 16 per cent.

'The money being allocated to Himachal Pradesh is from the central government's schemes. Whatever funds are available for development come directly from the central government. The Chief Minister is misleading the public by not mentioning these central schemes while making claims about road construction. Where is the state government allocating funds for this? Does the state budget have any provision for such projects?' Thakur questioned.

The BJP leader also criticized the government's claims regarding tourism development. He stated that while the government is promising new tourism destinations and convention centres, it has failed to clarify where the funding will come from.

'They say they will develop new destinations and construct convention centres. But where is the money coming from? Is the state government allocating funds? What is the actual tourism budget? The Rs 2,500 crore special allocation for tourism has come from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), facilitated by the central government. Yet, the Chief Minister is trying to mislead people by not acknowledging this,' he said.

Thakur further criticized the state's financial management, pointing out that Himachal Pradesh has already received Rs 2,800 crore as a special central assistance grant, interest-free for 50 years. However, despite this, the state's capital expenditure has fallen to its lowest levels.

He highlighted that the government is struggling to pay salaries and pensions on time.

'The biggest challenge today is ensuring that government employees receive their salaries and pensioners get their dues. The government talks big, but the reality is that it is unable to disburse old-age pensions, widow pensions, and disability pensions on time. In such a situation, how can this budget be beneficial for the people of the state?' Thakur said.

Jai Ram Thakur expressed skepticism over the state government's ambitious announcements. He claimed that the government has failed to implement its own flagship schemes introduced in the previous years.

'Take the Mukhyamantri Sukh-Shiksha Yojana, the Shubh Samman Nidhi Yojana, or the Rajiv Gandhi Startup Scheme--these were announced with much fanfare, but the budget allocations for these schemes are so minimal that more money has been spent on government advertisements than on implementing these programs,' the BJP leader added further.

Jai Ram Thakur concluded by stating that the public has lost faith in the government due to its repeated unfulfilled promises.

He accused the Chief Minister of making misleading statements while presenting the budget, suggesting that many of the announcements will never materialize.

'The government keeps repeating the same old promises year after year, but these schemes will never be fully implemented. People no longer trust their words,' Jairam Thakur said.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Monday presented a Rs 58,514 crore budget of Himachal Pradesh for the upcoming financial year, emphasizing rural economic development, employment generation, and social welfare. (ANI)