Presenting an over Rs 2 lakh crore Budget, the highest in Gujarat’s history, Finance Minister Nitin Patel on Tuesday allocated a lion’s share of the expenditure towards water management in the wake of the state grappling with an acute water crisis.
“For the first time, the state Budget has crossed Rs 2 lakh crore (Rs 2,04,815). The government will spend Rs 20,000 crore over the next three years to ensure no household in Gujarat is left without tap water. Rs 4,500 crore has been allocated this year for this purpose,” Patel said.
Gujarat is facing a severe water shortage this year with 96 of the state’s 250 tehsils, spanning 17 districts, having been declared either drought-affected or scarcity-hit, a majority of these in Saurashtra and North Gujarat.
Besides Rs 7,157 crore has been allocated for Sauni yojana and other water supply schemes. The ambitious Sardar Sarovar Narmada Yojana has been allocated Rs 6,595 crore in the Budget.