Chief ministerNitish Kumar expressed concern over the slashing of funds for central schemes meant for rural development in the 2023-23 UnionBudget, and also reiterated his demand for the grant of special category status toBihar.
The Centre should have accepted the demand of a poor state like Bihar regarding special category status to it, and three to five other states. This measure and central assistance would have helped their developmentt, which, after all, would have been in favour of the country, the CM said.
There is nothing in the central budget in the interest of the people, and rural areas. Funds allotted for the central schemes in 2022-23 financial year have been slashed, he said when asked about his response on the budget during his Samadhan Yatra in Saharsa district.
The CM said funds for important initiatives like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural EMPLOYMENT Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) have been brought down from Rs 73,000 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 60,000 crore, for PM Krishi Sinchai Scheme by Rs 2,167 crore and for Rashtriya Shiksha Mission by Rs 600 crore, besides others.