Signalling a widening rift within the ruling Mahayuti, several schemes announced by former chief minister Eknath Shinde before the elections have been slashed or left unfunded in the budget.
During his tenure, Shinde launched multiple schemes such as Anandacha Shidha, the Teerth Yatra Yojana for seniors, Shiv Bhojan Thali (introduced by Uddhav Thackeray and later continued by Shinde), Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana and the Ladka Bhau Yojana (state-funded apprenticeships).
Many of these schemes are now at risk of being discontinued due to a lack of funding.
For instance, Anandacha Shidha, which provided ration kits during festivals like Dussehra, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Gudi Padwa and Shiv Jayanti, was allocated approximately Rs602 crore. However, no funding decision has been made, and there was no mention of it in the finance minister’s budget speech.
Similarly, the Rs10 Shiv Bhojan Thali scheme, with an estimated budget of Rs247 crore, has also been left unfunded, along with the Teerth Yatra Yojana for senior citizens, which was allocated approximately Rs30 crore. The Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana, an initiative to provide medical check-ups for Rs1, and the Ladka Bhau Yojana, for which the government had allocated Rs5,500 crore, have also been left out of the budget.
During the budget discussions on Tuesday, the opposition took the opportunity to taunt Shinde over the budget cuts to his schemes. Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, “Shinde Saheb helped bring this government to power, but now his own schemes are being scrapped. This is the reality today.”
Less funding for Shinde ministers
In the state budget, the BJP ministers received more funds for their departments, Ajit Pawar’s group is in second place, while Shinde’s group is in third.
