Guwahati: The Assam budget on Friday proposed that persons practising polygamy will not be eligible for benefits under state-run welfare schemes, while government employees found guilty of the practice will face dismissal.
Presenting his maiden Budget, state Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said welfare measures should not only reach the deserving but also enforce "inclusivity, integrity and moral ethos" in society.
"Speaker Sir, in order to promote women's empowerment and gender justice, any male practising polygamy shall not be eligible to avail benefits under any government welfare scheme," Baruah said.
Also read: Three-fold rise in Assam Budget; aim to power growth, uplift people: CM Himanta Sarma
The budget proposed amending the Assam Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1964, to provide that any government servant found to have practised polygamy shall be liable for dismissal from service, in accordance with law.
"To promote integrity and responsible citizenship, I propose that any person convicted of an offence under any criminal law shall not be eligible to avail benefits under notified government welfare schemes," Baruah said.
Since a regular budget was not available during the election process, the government shall resume the basket of welfare schemes from August onwards, he added.
"The august House will appreciate the introduction of unprecedented basket of welfare schemes by our government covering various levels of beneficiaries. I propose to allocate over Rs 6,000 crore under different grants for these welfare schemes," he said.
All beneficiary-oriented schemes will be delivered through the unified digital beneficiary architecture under Digital Infrastructure for DBT Schemes (DIDS), including Aadhaar-based authentication, he added.
Baruah presented a Rs 2,85,084 crore budget for the 2026-27 financial year, and proposed to raise the tax exemption limit for small tea growers by four times and cut VAT on piped natural gas by almost 10 percentage points.
He also announced continuing all the major schemes rolled out during the last five years, while aiming to cut budget deficit to Rs 419 crore.
