Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, Ajit Pawar today presented a 58 crore rupees surplus budget proposal for 2011-12. In his maiden budget, Ajit Pawar extended tax exemption to food grains and essential commodities for a year and proposed a bonanza for farmers. He proposed zero interest rate loans upto 50,000 rupees and 2 percent interest loans upto Rupees 3 lakh for farmers who repay their loans on time.The budget proposes 1400 crore rupees for the development of Mumbai metropolitan region. The government has also earmarked 5 crores for developing a jetty service at the Gateway of India.Mumbai Metro Rail service will get 1532 crores and 40 crores earmarked for developing and enhancing e-governance facilities. Ajit Pawar also announced that the government plans to install 5000 CCTV in Mumbai to improve the city’s security.To improve infrastructure facilities in cities having power generation plants, he announced an additional tax. He said the electricity generated from these plants and sold across the state will be taxed to improve that city’s environs. He said that solar powered study centers will be developed in 4435 villages at the expense of 75 crores. The budget also earmarks 2,300 crores for making state free from load shedding.For the year 2011-12, Pawar has proposed a tax hike in rates of soft drinks, goggles and has proposed restructuring of excise duty on liquor. He has also proposed simplification of levy on stamp duty for share market transactions. To promote the use of non-conventional energy sources, the finance minister has announced tax exemption for domestic biogas units. Pawar said that in the year, 2011-12, revenue receipts were expected to be 1,21,503 crore rupees while revenue expenditure was pegged at 1,21,445 crores.The state budget was presented amidst huge chaos created by Sena-BJP members who were protesting against the state’s policy of appointing committee heads for important schemes like Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana.