Bokaro : The announcement made by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday over strategic disinvestment and monetisation of the lands owned by central public sector companies (CPSE’s) has shot up discussions among residents, trade unions, politicians, officials, industrialists and others of this steel city. Many of them wanted the government should reconsider the disinvestment push.
Though it was not made clear in the union budget, whether the NITI Aayog which has been asked to work on the next list of CPSE’s or the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to be developed to monetise lands owned by CPSE’s, would cover Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) a unit of SAIL or not, but people have expressed concern over it.
Following are the reactions of the people of Bokaro on budget proposals:
Bokaro, MLA, Biranchi Narayan – The budget is inclusive and dedicated to the welfare of the Indians.
Congress co-working president of state, Rajesh Thakur a native of Bokaro– The central government is now going to sell everything. Banks, insurance companies, airports, roads, power transmission lines, dedicated freight corridors of railways, warehouses etc. It is clear, this budget was introduced to benefit some capitalist friends by selling government companies established by the Congress government.
President of Bokaro Steel Officer Association, A K Singh – The government should focus to strengthen the PSUs instead of its disinvestment. The PSUs which is making loss continuously can be thought of, but certainly not those who are profitable.
Jharkhand’s regional convenor of RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), Sachinder Kumar Bariar – He congratulated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting a Budget that “will help revive the economy” from the Covid-19 hit but raised concerns about the government’s disinvestment plans.
General Secretary jharkhand INTUC, Sangram Singh– The budget of 2021 is all about selling and privatization of government assets and company. India needed job creation due the job losses in lockdown and for crores of our Indian youth but looks like it is out of focus. This budget is all about making the wealthiest wealthier, nothing impactful for the youth, common man, farmer and the working class. The budget looks like a hollow political speech.
President of Bokaro Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Sanjay Baid– By privatising in almost all areas, common people will have to pay more for services. The middle-class people hoped that there would be special provisions for them in this budget, but they were disappointed. Tax rates should have come down.
JMM trade union wing general secretary, B K Chaudhary– After banks, insurance companies, airports, industries and railway, now industrialists have their eyes on government land, which they will purchase it with the support of the government. This is what the budget says. This government will sell everything.
President of Jharkhand Industries Association (JIA), Mahesh Kejriwal– There is nothing great for MSME in today’s budget. The Center is contemplating a Dispute redressal committee for Vendors for CPSE. The government is finding ways to fund itself by Asset monetization. CPSE such as BSL should vigorously implement Ease of Doing business by removing delays and bottleneck easing Vendors.
Convenor of BJP Industry unit Jharkhand, Bhaiya Pritam – The government has proposed to double the allocation for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. This is in benefit of the state as it will boost in the coming up of more industries. For this, an allocation of Rs 15,700 crore has been made for the financial year starting from April 1.
