Raipur, February 22:To tackle maoists insurgency the Chhattisgarh government decided to give more money to its police to tackle Maoist insurgency and said more police stations would be set in extremist pockets.
Presenting a Rs.24,685.43-crore annual outlay in the assembly, Chief Minister Raman Singh, who also holds the finance portfolio, said: “Chhattisgarh is committed to combat Maoist violence and the police budget has been increased to Rs.1,140.15 crore from Rs.977.20 crore, an exactly 16.68 percent hike compared to 2009-10.”
“The basic intent for increasing budget for the police department is to strongly combat Maoist violence,” Singh told reporters after presenting the budget amid repeated interruptions by the opposition Congress members.
He announced that the government would focus on setting up new police stations and upgrading those existing in insurgency-ridden pockets.
With an estimated growth of 12 percent in tax and 26 percent in non-tax revenue, the Rs.859.78 crore revenue-surplus budget was presented by the Bharatiya Janata Party government that is ruling the state since December 2003.
Giving a special thrust to education, health, food security and availability of pure drinking water in the budget 2010-11, the BJP government has earmarked about 46 percent of the state’s total expenditure for the social sector.
“To overcome the infrastructural gaps in health sector, government will construct five community health centres, 57 primary health centres and 100 sub-health centres costing Rs. 30 crore. Nursing schools to be set up at Rajnandgaon, Raigarh, Korba and Ambikapur during 2010-11 while `On Call’ ambulance facility is being introduced at cities,” the chief minister announced in his budget speech.
—Agencies