By IANS,
Patna:The Bihar government Thursday presented a Rs.53,758 crore surplus budget for 2010-11, which provides more funding for social and infrastructure projects to achieve “inclusive growth”.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the budget in which more funds have been earmarked for education, human resource, irrigation, infrastructure, particularly roads, and social welfare.
Presenting the budget, he said that the “revenue surplus will be used for development projects, particularly power, schools, health centres and roads.
An allotment of Rs.4,000 crore has been made for roads, Rs.2,500 crore for education, Rs.8,220 crore for human resource and Rs.2,202 crore for irrigation.
Modi, afterwards, said that a surplus budget had been presented despite an additional burden of Rs.5,000 crore due to implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations and the massive drought and floods that hit the state last year.
He told the house that that the size of the state plan had increased from Rs.13,500 crore in 2005-6 to Rs.20,000 crore in 2010-11. “Bihar is on the move if the state plan increased in the last four years is any indication,” Modi said.
Reminding the members that Bihar will be a developed state by 2015, he said it was reflected in “inclusive growth” that got an encouraging boost last month when statistics put Bihar’s growth – 11.03 percent – ahead of the national average of 8.49 percent. Bihar is next to Gujarat, according to the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).
However, Leader of Opposition Rabri Devi termed the state budget as a “disappointment for people”.