Guwahati, July 06 2009: Irked by the 'not-friendly' Union Budget for the Northeast, MPs from Assam will stage protest in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented Budget in the Parliament on Monday.

Reacting to today's Union Budget, MPs of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and BJP in Assam have decided to stage a protest in the national capital on Tuesday.

These MPs from Assam feel that the Northeast region is not going to benefit from today's Union Budget presented except the capital subsidy of Rs 2,138 crore to be provided by Central Government for the Assam Gas Cracker Project.

The Assam Gas Cracker Project, sanctioned in April 2006, is being executed at a cost of Rs.5,461 crore.

In his budget speech, the Finance Minister said the outlay for the project was being stepped up suitably.

But what ruffled the feathers of AGP and BJP MPs were the grants of Rs..1,000 crore for hurricane Aila-affected West Bengal and Rs.500 crore to combat the artificial floods in Mumbai.

"If Government can give so much money for two/three days of artificial floods in Mumbai and Rs.1,000 crore for Aila-affected West Bengal, why can't it .give anything to Assam where hundreds of thousands of people are affected by the floods each year?" asked AGP MP Birendra Prasad Baishya.

Describing the Budget as "disappointing for Assam", BJP MP Ramen Deka lamented that Assam did not get anything from the Budget even though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been elected to Rajya Sabha from the state.

Both the AGP and the BJP reiterated the demand that the floods in Assam be declared as a "national problem".

Even sitting Congress MP and former Union Minister Pawan Singh Ghatowar felt that the Centre should declare the floods in Assam as a national problem.

"It is not possible for the state Government to tackle the floods alone," Ghatowar observed.

The Federation of Industries and Commerce of North East Region (FINER) has also dubbed the Budget as disappointing for the region.

FINER chairman RS Joshi expressed unhappiness over the increase in the rate of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT).

The rate of MAT has been increased to 15 per cent of book profits from the existing rate of 10 per cent.

"This will badly hit our cash flow and profitability," Joshi felt.

As far as the Budget is concerned, the FINER chairman added, the Northeast is disappointed.

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