Dehradun: Amid strong opposition by the Congress, the budget of 13 government departments was passed in the state assembly on Thursday. After the ministers read out the budget, the Congress termed it an ‘eyewash’ saying the facts presented by the government were misleading and far from the ground reality.A budget of Rs 128 crore was passed by the House for election department, Rs 9,471 crore for finance department, Rs 29.63 crore for excise department, Rs 182 crore for co-operative department, Rs 997 crore for irrigation department, Rs 200 crore for tourism, Rs 1,740 crore for drinking water, Rs 1,165 crore for agriculture department, Rs 258 crore for transport department, Rs 1405 crore for social welfare department for the welfare of SCs, Rs 46 crore for welfare of STs, Rs 350 crore for animal husbandry and Rs 402 crore for labour department.Congress MLA from Mangalaur, Qazi Nizam-ud-Din said that irrigation is a serious problem for the rural areas of Haridwar district. “Both less or excess of water poses as a serious issue for the farmers. The district authorities are mostly unaware of the situation and when contacted, they did not have an answer,” he said.The Congress also slammed ‘failure’ of the state government to make a Kanwar road to help crores of pilgrims coming to Haridwar during monsoon. “The government changes its statement every year. One year, Rs 50 crore had been passed for the project and another, a budget of Rs 48 crore for the same. I am surprised that this double engine government has hardly done anything to construct the road for pilgrims who come to Haridwar each year,” he added.Congress MLA from Kedarnath, Manoj Rawat said that Rishikesh has emerged as the yoga and adventure sports capital of the country. “The state government needs to specify its contribution in the matter. What has it done to improve the facilities to develop spots for sports like water polo. National and international bodies want events in the stretch of river from Kaudiyala to Rishikesh but the state government is unable to provide the facilities.”Agriculture minister, Subodh Uniyal said that the government has set targets which can be achieved. “We aim to double the income of the farmers and the Trivendra Singh Rawat government is working in this direction. We are helping farmers in agriculture and allied sectors,” he said. Efforts are being made to start apple farming in Mori area of Uttarkashi district, he added.Tourism minister, Satpal Maharaj said that the department was committed to develop one new tourist destination in each of the 13 districts. “The projects of Kedarnath are being carried out at a rapid pace and we are taking steps like building homestays and developing new circuits to increase tourist footfall,” said the minister.

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