Date:20/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/07/20/stories/2004072001260900.htm

Other States - Assam

Government presents deficit Budget

By Barun Das Gupta

GUWAHATI, JULY 19. The Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, who also holds the Finance portfolio, presented a deficit Budget of Rs. 3138.54 crores for the fiscal 2004-05 in the Assembly today.

He made minor taxation proposals to yield an additional revenue of Rs. 145 crores during the year.

Dwelling at length in his budget speech on the losses caused by the current floods, Mr. Gogoi proposed to exempt flood-affected people from payment of land revenue for the current year.

He also assured he would suggest to the Centre and the banks to defer repayment of agricultural loans by the flood-hit people by one year. While he claimed the growth rate of the Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) had almost doubled in one year from 3.9 per cent in 2002-03 to 6.2 per cent in 2003-04, the general picture of the State economy that he portrayed was dismal.

He admitted the "overall stagnation of the State's economy.''

Earlier, the Opposition AGP and BJP members staged a noisy walkout during the question hour when the Chief Minister turned down their demand to set up a House committee to go into the crude oil theft scam in which they alleged two of Mr. Gogoi's Cabinet colleagues were involved.