A visible strain on the state’s finances due to the poll promises made by the erstwhile government like the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana‘ was reflected in the first budget presented by Maharashtra finance minister Ajit Pawar after the Mahayuti government came back to power. While the Mahayuti government had begun paying Rs 1,500 to women under the Ladki Bahin scheme, the government had, prior to the polls, promised to hike it to Rs 2,100. CM Devendra Fadnavis has stated that the increased payout is “being worked out”. To boost the state’s revenue, the government has decided to tax “those who can afford to pay”.
Welfare schemes announced prior to the assembly elections like the ‘Ladki Bahin scheme’ and other freebies have led to increased borrowing. In 2023-24, the state used to pay Rs 45,651 crore as annual interest payments on its debt. The fact that this has climbed to Rs 54,687 crore for 2024-25 and is estimated to go up to a whooping Rs 64,658 crore for 2025-26, clearly shows the strain of these schemes on the state’s finances. For 2025-26, the state has allocated Rs 36,000 crore for payouts under the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme. The strain on the finances could be gauged from the fact that a sizable section of Pawar’s speech was centred on talking about schemes that were already announced.
Pawar has hiked Motor Vehicle Tax on four-wheeler CNG and LPG vehicles by 1%. It was also proposed to levy a motor vehicle tax on electric vehicles that cost more than Rs 30 lakh. The maximum limit of motor vehicle tax is proposed to increase from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. It is also proposed to levy a motor vehicle tax on a ‘compulsory lump sum basis’ at the rate of 7% on vehicles used for construction projects like cranes, compressors, projectors and excavators. Ajit Pawar, after presenting the budget, claimed that the budget was “balanced” and adhered to “fiscal discipline”.
The Maharashtra Opposition slammed the budget claiming that the state had not kept its pre-poll promises — from farm loan waivers to the Rs 2,100 payout to women under the Ladki bahin scheme. Uddhav Thackeray claimed that the budget was meant to “benefit only the contractors as several projects were being done with an eye to help the ‘contractors”.
