Puducherry: Amid pandemonium resulting in eviction of opposition legislators, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy presented a Rs 3,333.24-crore tax-free budget for 2008-2009 in the assembly here today.

Rangasamy, also holding finance portfolio, said gross estimate of Rs 3,333.24 crore comprised Rs 1,750 crore under plan expenditure and Rs 1,553.40 crore under non-plan expenditure, besides Rs 29.84 crore under centrally sponsored schemes. On the funding pattern of the budget, he said the central grant was Rs 703.05 crore, while Rs 1,225.79 crore would be met through loans and Rs 1,404.40 crore through own resources of the Union Territory.

The budget proposals included simplification of procedures to sanction loans to small and marginal farmers through cooperative institutions, Rangasamy said. A sum of Rs 20 crore would be released through the state cooperative bank for this purpose and the interest rate for loans released by village cooperative agriculture credit societies would be reduced from seven to four per cent.

Pandemonium prevailed when Rangasamy presented the budget as opposition AIADMK and Puducherry Munnetra Congress members were evicted from the House on the orders of the Speaker after they trooped into the well of the House. The members raised slogans against the failure of the government to implement the schemes announced so far.

As soon as the Chief Minister started presenting the budget, the three AIADMK members, carrying posters, rushed toward the podium of the Speaker and staged noisy protests. However, Rangasamy went ahead with the presentation of the budget speech.

Source : PTI