Mobiles, cigarettes, liquor to cost more

MUMBAI: Liquor, cigarettes, mobile phones, digital cameras, video cameras, decorative gypsum boards and stamp duty on various agreements will cost more while imitation jewellery, plastic mats, agarbattis (incense sticks), domestic LPG stoves and shikakai and ritha (herbal hair products) will become cheaper in Maharashtra.

Finance minister Dilip Walse-Patil tabled the state���s additional budget on Thursday. As expected, the upcoming assembly elections in September and the global economic meltdown dominated the budget in which the estimated deficit will be to the tune of Rs 2,645 crore.

The government has made provision for several memorials, including a Shivaji statue in Mumbai, and social welfare schemes for minorities and weaker sections , besides offering sops for housewives and scholarships for economically backward students. There is no specific provision for the various urban infrastructure projects being implemented.

The state government also claimed that it had done away with the development backlog from the backward regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada by allocating specific funds. However, BJP state unit president Nitin Gadkari described the claim as misleading and said the finance minister had made several promises without making any provision for funds.