Arunachal CM presents Rs 140.02 cr deficit budget

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki today presented a Rs 140.02 crore deficit budget for the financial year 2014-15 with major thrust on social and economic sectors besides prioritising border area development.

In his one-hour long budget speech, Tuki who, also holds the Finance portfolio informed the Assembly that the budget estimate was prepared in consonance with the medium term fiscal plan of the state in accordance with the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission (TFC).

"This has been stipulated under the Arunachal Pradesh Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2006 and as amended during 2012 based on the recommendations of the TFC," Tuki said.

The budget estimate for 2014-15 shows a receipt of Rs 9,455.54 crore under the Consolidated Fund of the state of which Rs 8,777.48 crore is on the Revenue Account and the remaining under Capital Account.

"The total expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the state in 2014-15 under Non-Plan is estimated at Rs 4,090.75 crore of which Rs 3,813.87 crore is on Revenue Account and Rs 276.88 crore on Capital Account," Tuki said.

"The total expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the state under Plan is estimated at Rs 5,504.81 crore of which Rs 3,366.23 crore is on Revenue Account and Rs 2,138.58 crore on Capital Account," he said.

Disclosing the major thrust area of the budget, Tuki informed that in the education sector the government was proposing to make functional 22 secondary schools upgraded in recent time. Moreover, bio-metric attendance with SMS alert for school teachers for 500 schools would be introduced.

"The government is proposing to cover all schools of the state under immunization programme and to provide toilets from the flexi fund provision of Centrally sponsored schemes of Education department and through Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan," the chief minister disclosed adding five model colleges would be established and three another were under active consideration.

On the health sector, he said, smart cards would be issued to the people including government employees for coverage under insurance scheme under the Chief Minister's Universal Health Insurance Scheme.