Dehradun: With the government set to present the state’s budget on Friday, most people are expecting that finance minister Prakash Pant will take cues from the Union interim budget announced early this month.Farmers are expected to be wooed and so is the middle class. When TOI queried a few farmers about their expectations, they said that the government should focus on incentivising local crops and creating infrastructure for better procurement. “The Union interim budget did make announcements for farmers but they were nothing more than sops. The state government should now at least give us concrete plans instead of cash handouts,” said Somesh Kandwal, a farmer from Vikasnagar block in Dehradun.Another farmer said the government should announce benefits for farmers affected by natural calamities. “The centre did announce relaxation in loan interest for farmers affected by natural calamities. However, if our crops are totally destroyed, we would not be able to pay the principal amount, let alone the interest. The state government should bring a scheme for this,” said Prem Narayan, a farmer from Uttarkashi district.Pankaj Gupta, an industrialist, added, “We know that the focus of the budget is going to be farmers and middle class but they should also focus on traders in the state. We hope that they will not introduce any new taxes or increase the existing tax rates.”Gupta added that the government should also focus on maintaining its resources. “Because it is an election year, the government should not just spend everything on giving sops. The state is already in debt. Therefore, fiscal prudence is expected from the government,” he said.

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