Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Budget 2024, announced a Rs 26,000 crore boost for highways in Bihar and has announced the allocation of Rs 15,000 crore financial support for the development of the new Andhra Pradesh capital, Amaravati.
Sitharaman said, “On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar. It will catalyse the development of the easter region. We will also support the development of road connectivity projects – Patna-Purnea expressway, Buxar-Bhagalpur highway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbhanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga in Buxar for Rs 26,000 crores.”
The major announcements made for Bihar cover human resource development, infrastructure and the generation of economic opportunities to make the eastern region of the country an engine to attain Viksit Bharat.
“Power projects, including setting up of a new 2400 megawatt power plant at Pirpainti, will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21400 crore,” she added.
Also Read: Parliament Budget Session Live Updates
The Finance Minister said that new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed. An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided, she said.
She emphasised that the requests of the Bihar government for external assistance from multi-lateral development banks will be expedited. The FM also announce an allocation of Rs 11500 crore or flood control measures in Bihar. Funds have also been provided for developing the Temple corridors in the iconic temples in NIhar. The Kashi Model will be implemented in Bodh Gaya. Special funds have also been provided for the Rajgir Jain Temple site.
Also Read: Budget 2024: Centre announces month’s wage for new hires, internship scheme in top firms
Meanwhile, mentioning that the Centre has made efforts to fulfil the commitments in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, Sitharaman said, “”Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act- Our govt has made efforts to fulfil the commitments in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Recognising the state’s need for capital, we will facilitate special financial support through multilateral agencies. In the current FY, Rs 15,000 crore will be arranged with additional amounts in future years.”
The Centre today opened up its wallet to boost projects in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, which are ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party’s key allies Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar.
Speculations were rife that the Modi government was facing demands from its key allies – TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and JDU’s Nitish Kumar – to allot more funds to their states.
The Budget bonanza for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power for a third straight term, but with a weaker mandate as BJP failed to secure a majority on its own and had to rely on allies such as Naidu and Nitish to form the government.
(With inputs from agencies)