Traders body gives Delhi budget a thumbs down

New Delhi, Mar 10 (KNN) Annoyed over being neglected in the Delhi Budget which was tabled by the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday, traders' body CAIT said it’s a disappointing document for the traders community.

The AAP government on Tuesday presented a proposed budget of Rs 69,000 crore for the financial year 2021-22 based on the theme of 'patriotism'.

"Delhi's budget is unfair. It reflects Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's negative attitude towards the trader community. We strongly condemn the Delhi Budget," said Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) National General Secretary, Pravin Khandelwal on Tuesday.

Kandelwal said that it is most unfortunate that at a time when Delhi's business is under great financial strain and is trying to overcome the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Delhi government has not allocated funds for the development of businesses in Delhi.

"It is also surprising that not a single plan has been announced in the state budget for the business community nor have any policy measures been announced to streamline trade and commerce in Delhi," added the CAIT National General Secretary.

No plan has been announced to set up a cyber-hub in Delhi while Delhi's revenue is shifting to neighbouring cities such as Gurgaon and Noida, he said.

Traders' body said that Delhi is the largest centre of trade in the country and Delhi's revenue is largely dependent on trade.

''It was expected that the Kejriwal government would come up with something for traders but unfortunately it did not pay any attention to them in the state budget," it added.