Jharkhand govt tables supplementary demands of Rs 5,508 crore
Ranchi: The Jharkhand government on Thursday tabled supplementary demands of Rs 5,508 crore during the ongoing 20-day budget session of the Assembly. Finance minister Radhakrishna Kishore tabled the third supplementary budget of Rs 5,508 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal. The Energy department is proposed to get the maximum outlay of Rs 971.80 crore, followed by the Rural Works department at Rs 873.29 crore and Home, Jail and Disaster Management department at Rs 502.61 crore.
A sum of Rs 500 crore has been proposed for the Pension department, while the School Education and Literacy department is likely to get Rs 393.93 crore. The supplementary budget was tabled after the call attention motion. Earlier in December, Kishore had tabled the second supplementary budget of Rs 11,697.45 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal. The debate on the supplementary budget is scheduled to be held on Friday. Earlier, the House witnessed a heated debate over Maiyan Samman Yojana between BJP MLA CP Singh and Minister Chamra Linda during Question Hour. Singh questioned the delay in the transfer of benefits under Maiyan Samman Yojana and asked if they would be paid by Eid. Replying to this, minister Chamra Linda said that the money of two months—January and February—will be paid to the beneficiaries of the scheme by March 15, possibly before Holi.
Jharkhand government provides Rs 2,500 per month to over 56 lakh women beneficiaries under Maiyan Samman Yojana. The beneficiaries, however, have not yet received the benefit of two months— January and February. Singh also cornered the government asking if widows and physically challenged women, who get a pension of Rs 1,000 per month, will be provided the benefit of Maiyan Samman Yojana. "The women aged 18 and 50 years get the benefit of Maiyan Samman Yojana in the state. But, widows and physically challenged women get Rs 1,000. I would like to know about the disparity from the government," the BJP MLA said. Linda said that the Hemant Soren government brought a bigger scheme for widows –Vidhwa Punarvivah Protsahan Yojana (widow remarriage incentive scheme)—under which a one-time incentive of Rs 2 lakh is provided by the government. Linda said if the Centre increases the amount under the pension scheme for widows and physically challenged, the state government would also think about increasing the amount. The state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal will be tabled on March 3. This will be the first budget of the Hemant Soren-led government since the JMM-led alliance won the polls in November last year. The Assembly session that commenced on February 24 will conclude on March 27.
