Women, senior citizen to get free bus service in Guwahati V-P: Gender equality and women safety still elusive
In his last pre-poll budget, Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma here on Friday presented the budget for 2020-21 in the state assembly with no new tax proposals as he announced slew of welfare schemes ranging from providing subsidized electricity to free bus ride for women and senior citizen.
It also included free rice to 57 lakh families under National Food Security Act besides `1,000 every month to each students in college and university to help pay their hostel dues.
Mr Sarma in his initial remarks said, “New era has dawned in Assam—an era of hope, of aspiration, of development and of a promise of a future that embraces everyone.”
Announcing a gift of a scooty to 20,000 girl toppers in plus two state board examination, the minister in his long budget speech said that `3000 each will be transferred to 7,21,485 bank accounts of tea garden workers.
Defending the charges of opposition of budget leak, Mr Sarma said that state has registered a growth rate of 13 per cent in last financial year as the government has spent `73000 crore in 2019-20 financial year. “We have increased total expenditure by nearly `30,000 crore over last three years which has a multiplier effect on the economy,” the minister said.
In his budget speech, Mr Sarma also announced that his government is going to set up a development board for indigenous Muslims while three other development councils for Koch Rajbongshi, Matak and Moran.
Proposing to start special free bus (pink bus) service in Guwahati for women and senior citizens, the minister said that his government has also envisaged plan to set up 200 new schools in Assam to compete with private schools. Even candidates can get free ride in the state buses if they are travelling for interview and competitive examinations across the state.
In what is said to be a move to ‘appease’ tea garden vote bank, the minister said that his government will send Rs 18,000 in to the account of pregnant woman in tea gardens to take care of their health. Moreover, every tea garden worker will get `50,000 gratuity on the day of retirement, he added.
Ahead of the international Women’s Day on March 8, Vice Presi-dent and Rajya Sabha Chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said in spite of all odds, Indian women have come a long way to make their presence felt at the national and international level.
Noting that the Indian Constitution is enshrined with the ideals of gender equality and women empowerment as fundamental to achieving equal rights and dignity for all, Mr Naidu said that despite women registering remarkable progress on all fronts, “Gender equality and women safety still remain elusive”.
Pitching for enough opportunities for women to serve as legislators in the state legislatures and Parliament, Mr Naidu said women also need to be “included and consulted in every fora for policy formulation and implementation.” He said greater participation of women in legislatures will ensure outcomes which are sensitive to their needs..
“Our founding fathers enshrined in the Constitution the ideals of gender equality and women empowerment as fundamental to achieving equal rights and dignity for all. Today, despite women registering remarkable progress on all fronts, gender equality and women safety still remain elusive,” said Mr Naidu in the Rajya Sabha.
ASSAM GOVERNMENT presents budget filled with sops and freebies ahead of assembly polls