Chandigarh, January 22 — Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday described the pre-budget consultation process as a vital and empowering instrument of democracy, stating that the upcoming state budget will be shaped through active public participation. He was addressing a pre-budget consultation meeting with representatives of various organisations in Kurukshetra.
Minister of State for Entrepreneurship Gaurav Gautam was also present at the meeting, which saw participation from office-bearers of several prominent organisations representing different sections of society. These included the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Vidya Bharati, Adhivakta Parishad, Vishva Hindu Parishad and Kreeda Bharati, among others. Representatives shared key suggestions related to their respective sectors for inclusion in the upcoming budget.
The Chief Minister said the budget is not meant for any single government or electoral agenda, but represents the aspirations of 2.8 crore citizens of Haryana under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He emphasised that the government aims to prepare a balanced and development-oriented budget by ensuring participation from all sections of society.
Calling the pre-budget consultation process an effective democratic mechanism, Saini said the government would seriously consider suggestions received from farmers, workers, youth, advocates, educators, sports bodies and social organisations. He expressed confidence that a budget prepared with public participation would play a crucial role in making Haryana self-reliant, empowered and developed.
Assuring stakeholders, the Chief Minister said every practical and public-interest-oriented suggestion received during the consultations would be examined on priority and incorporated into the budget wherever possible. He added that the government’s objective is to present a visionary and people-centric budget whose impact would be clearly visible on the ground in the coming years, not just on paper.
During the meeting, OSD to the Chief Principal Secretary of the Chief Minister, Hina Bindlish, presented details of the action-taken report on previous pre-budget consultations. She said suggestions received earlier were taken seriously and incorporated into past budgets, with positive outcomes now visible at the grassroots level.
She informed that a total of 11 pre-budget consultation meetings had been held, during which valuable inputs were received from various stakeholders. These included suggestions from women’s groups, industry and health sectors, different government departments, rural development and panchayati raj institutions, education, skill development, excise, and incubation centres. Several recommendations related to startups have already been implemented, incubation centres are being set up across the state, and proposals linked to employment generation are currently under progress.
Senior officials present on the occasion included Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Rajesh Khullar, Additional Chief Secretary of Higher Education Vineet Garg, Principal Secretary Arun Kumar Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary of Cooperation Vijender Kumar, Principal Secretary of Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Ranjan, Principal Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Pankaj Aggarwal, Principal Secretary of Sports Vijay Singh Dahiya, Commissioner and Secretary of Industries and Commerce Dr Amit Aggarwal, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr Saket Kumar, Deputy Principal Secretary Yashpal, and OSD to the Chief Minister Dr Raj Nehru, among others.
