U’khand Assembly Budget session begins; Cong stages walkout during Guv’s address

Bhararisain:The Budget session of the Uttarakhand Assembly began in the state’s summer capital with a walkout by the Opposition during an address by Governor Baby Rani Maurya, who said decentralised development with an all-inclusive approach is her government”s priority.

Led by Indira Hridayesh, Congress MLAs staged a walkout from the Assembly, saying the 27-page speech of the Governor left out the problem of unemployment that directly affected the youth.

The Governor addressed the state Assembly for the first time after Gairsain became the summer capital of Uttarakhand in June 2021. The Assembly building is situated at Bhararisain near Gairsain in Chamoli district.

To be ranked among the country”s developed states through decentralised development with an all-inclusive approach is the state government”s priority, the Governor said in her 40-minute address.

The Governor said the state government is working with the commitment and dedication to achieve its development goals and highlighted steps taken by it to improve the lot of farmers by offering interest-free loans up to Rs five lakh to them and self-help groups under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Sahkarita Vikas Kalyan Yojana.

She said 10 additional growth centres will be set up in Uttarakhand the next financial year for value addition to farm produce and its better distribution.

The Governor also spoke on the Mukhya Mantri Swarojgar Yojana under which loans at an interest rate of eight per cent are being given by district cooperative banks to enterprising youth and migrants who returned home after losing jobs in parts of the country after the coronavirus outbreak.

She underlined efforts being made by the state government to increase the transparency and accountability in governance through schemes like the Mukya Mantri Helpline Yojana under which anyone can seek redress of his or her grievance in a time-bound manner.

Earlier, the Governor was welcomed by Speaker Premchand Aggrawal on her arrival at the Gairsain Vidhan Sabha.

She was also given a Guard of Honour.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Kaushik said the state Budget will be tabled in the Assembly on March 4.