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Delhi gets a 'developmental' budget
Jyoti Koul - New Delhi
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on the heels of railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Delhi's finance minister,
A K Walia has presented an equally positive state budget 2007-08. Its Tenth
Five Year Plan, which was formulated in 2002, will be termed as the golden era
in the history of development process of Delhi, according to the state finance
minister.
The government has decided to improve Delhi's civic and social infrastructure
during the Eleventh Five Year Plan with the modernisation of its airport, introduction
of new modes of public transport, pollution-free Yamuna, and expansion of green
cover up to 25 per cent. These are some of the major projects proposed by the
minister to be implemented during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. According to
Walia, it is a matter of satisfaction that work on the new Pitampura Haat is
progressing as per schedule and will be completed by September 2007. It will
provide recreational and cultural facilities to citizens of north and north-west
Delhi.
The government has also announced a Science & Technology Park (STEP) at
Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology (NSIT). Apart from this, traditional
industries like handicrafts, handloom, khadi and village industries and leather
goods will also be promoted in a big way.
Referring to the tax measure initiated by the union finance minister, P Chidambaram
in the union budget this year, Walia said, "The decision of the Government
of India to provide tax holiday to hotels to up to four-star category coming
up in Delhi between April 2007 and October 2010 will contribute towards involving
the private sector in construction of new hotels. This is one of the major requirements
for promotion of tourism in Delhi. Further, the government has decided to promote
a Paying Guest Accommodation Scheme and has also prepared a Bed & Breakfast
Bill 2007, which will be presented in the August House session." This bill
will provide incentives to owners willing to use their homes for paying guests.
They will be charged only domestic tariff for electricity and water and will
be exempted from VAT and luxury tax.
While commenting on the budget, Kartikeya Bharat Ram, chairman of CII (Delhi
State Council), said, "It's a people-oriented budget that has focused on
urban development and social sectors - infrastructure, transport, education,
water and health."
| The minister has also given a lot of emphasis on
transportation. The outlay is proposed at Rs 2,270 crore as against Rs 1,414
crore last year. Considering the need for improvement of transport facilities,
the sector has been given the highest allocation. "The emphasis on
infrastructure especially transport will put Delhi on the right track to
deal with the challenges of the Commonwealth Games 2010 and the needs of
a growing modern city," Bharat Ram said. The government has earmarked
a whopping Rs 18,561 crore as the total expenditure during 2007-08. This
includes Rs 9,000 crore as Plan Outlay, Rs 9,461 crore as provision for
Non-Plan and Rs 100 crore for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).
Action is also underway to operationalise the Delhi Integrated
Multimodal Transport Systems (DIMTS). A comprehensive transport demand
forecast study and development of an integrated road-cum-multimodal transport
network for Delhi has been commissioned. Besides this, the work on all
six corridors of Delhi Metro Phase II is progressing as per schedule and
will be completed before the Commonwealth Games 2010. In addition to the
six approved corridors of Delhi Metro Phase II, government has also decided
to construct a metro corridor of 18 kilometres from the New Delhi railway
station to IGI Airport.
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