Shimla: The State Government has decided to do away with the old system of Plan and Non Plan categorization for the Budget and have decided to start new system of Annual Development Budget instead of Annual Plan from the year 2021-22.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, while speaking at the State Planning Board Meeting here on Wednesday to approve Draft Annual Development Budget for the year 2021-22, said that under the new mechanism all the four sub plans viz. General Plan, Scheduled Caste Sub Plan, Tribal Sub Plan and Backward Area Sub Plan would now be renamed General Development Programme, Scheduled Caste Development Programme, Scheduled Tribe Development Programme and Backward Area Development Programme respectively.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the State Government has made a provision of Rs. 9405.41 crore for the State Development Budget for the year 2021-22. He said that out of this Rs. 6096.70 crore i.e. 64.82 percent has been allocated for General Development Programme, Rs. 2369.22 crore i.e 25.19 percent for Scheduled Caste Development Programme, Rs. 846.49 crore i.e. 9 percent for Scheduled Tribe Development Programme and Rs. 93 crore i.e. 0.99 percent of total allocation for Backward Area Development Programme. He said that although the names have been changed but there have been no decrease in the allocation for funds for development of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Areas.
Chief Minister said that the world economy was adversely affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India and Himachal Pradesh was not an exception. He said that the Central Government had provided a financial assistance of Rs. 7161 crores to the State Government during the pandemic in form of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Atamnirbhar Bharat, during Lockdown and DISCOM.
