Hamirpur(HP), March 4 : Senior BJP leader and former HP Chief Minister, PK Dhumal Friday hailed the state budget for the year 2022-23 that was presented by the Chief Minister, Jai Ram Thakur in the state assembly Thursday. He said this budget will not only give further impetus to Himachal Pradesh on the path of development, but big gifts have been announced to the elderly, housewives, widows, children, farmers and Panchayat representatives. The budget is all-touching and all-beneficial which has been presented in difficult economic conditions. He said the budget was going to make the future of the state bright. The former Chief Minister also described the announcement of reducing the old age pension age limit to 60 years in the presented budget. Along with this, the amount of Social Security Pension, Divyang and Widow Pension has also been increased. The amount of widow remarriage has been increased to ₹65,000. He said while the State Government has benefited lakhs of housewives of the state by providing gas cylinders and stoves free of cost under the Grihini Suvidha Yojana, a big announcement has been made to provide additional three cylinders free of cost under this scheme. A new scheme has also been talked about for preparing their buildings for the Anganwadi centers, which teach the little flowers of the state’s garden to walk with their fingers, which will fulfill the dreams of the future. It is also an appropriate decision to increase the honorarium of Anganwadi workers, Asha workers, mid-day meal workers and water assistants. The former Chief Minister said in this budget much, had been said about promoting natural farming in the state and for farmers and fruit growers to make flower growers easily take their products to the customers, which was going to provide a lot of relief. A provision of Rs 583 crores has been made for agriculture and Rs 543 crores for horticulture, while two big grain markets and one big flower market have been announced in the state. Appreciating the announcement of increasing the honorarium of the representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, who play an important role in the democratic system, the former Chief Minister said the role of all these representatives is very important in accelerating the development chariot of the state and their honorarium is huge. Dhumal who had presented ten budgets during his two stints as Chief Minister of the state said the state government has also taken many important steps in this budget regarding the protection of cows. There has been talk of making provision for stringent laws related to cattle. An announcement has been made to make five big cow sanctuaries and the amount given to support and nurture the same cow has been increased to Rs 700. Milk purchase price has been increased by Rs 2. The former Chief Minister said overall the budget presented by the state government was going to benefit every section of the society. CSS SY 1517