Budget rolls out financial packages for development of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh

Budget 2024 invests in price stabilisation fund

The union budget laid out by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in parliament on July 23 announced financial packages for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, which included irrigation, infrastructure, and temple corridor projects. This was along expected lines, because of the coalition government of Modi 3.0.

Sitharaman announced a Rs 15,000 crore package under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

“Our government has made concerted efforts to fulfil the commitments in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Recognising the
state’s need for a capital, we will facilitate special financial support through
multilateral development agencies. In the current financial year, Rs 15,000
crore will be arranged, with additional amounts in future years,” the Finance Minister said during her budget speech.

The budget announced financing for and early completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, which is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh and its farmers. “This will facilitate our country’s food security as well,” she said.

Under the Act, to promote industrial development, funds will be provided for essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways, and roads in the Kopparthy node on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, and the Orvakal node on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. An additional allocation will be also provided this year towards capital investment for the state's economic growth, Sitharaman said.

Grants for the backward regions of Rayalaseema, Prakasam, and north coastal Andhra, as stated in the Act, will also be provided.

Package for Bihar

The budget announced Rs 26,000 crore towards the development of road projects in Bihar. These include the Patna-Purnea expressway, the Buxar-Bhagalpur expressway, the Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga spurs, and an additional two-lane bridge over the river Ganga at Buxar.

Apart from this, Rs 21,400 crore was allocated towards power projects, including the setting up of a new 2,400 MW power plant at Pirpainti.

New airports, medical colleges, and sports infrastructure  will also be constructed in Bihar, Sitharaman said.

“An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided. The requests of the Bihar government for external assistance from multilateral development banks will be expedited,” she added.

Another Rs 11,500 crore was announced towards irrigation projects to manage the flood prone areas of Bihar. The state has frequently suffered from floods, many of them originating outside the country. Plans to build flood control structures in Nepal are yet to progress.

“Our government, through the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme and other sources, will provide financial support at an estimated cost of Rs 11,500 crore for projects such as the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link and 20 other ongoing and new schemes, including barrages, and river pollution abatement and irrigation projects. In addition, survey and investigation of the Kosi-related flood mitigation and irrigation projects will be undertaken,” Sitharaman added during the budget speech.

The Finance Minister also announced the development of temple corridors for the Vishnupad temple at Gaya and the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya, modelled on the lines of Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor.

“It will transform these temples into world class pilgrim and tourist destinations,” she said.

Further, she announced a development initiative for Rajgir, which holds immense religious significance for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains, and added that Nalanda will be  developed as a tourist centre, and Nalanda University will be revived.

The government will formulate a Purvodaya plan  for the all-round development of the eastern region of the country covering
Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.

“The states in the eastern part of the country are rich in endowments and have strong cultural traditions. We will formulate Purvodaya for them,” she said.