Orissa budget size for 2012-13 may exceed Rs 50,000 cr

The State Budget size for 2012-13 is expected to cross Rs 50,000 crore with the Plan outlay likely at Rs 18,000 crore. The date of presentation of the annual statement of expenses and revenue is tentatively fixed for February 24 during the next session of the state assembly that is set to start after the three-tier panchayat elections that ends on February 19.

"The State Budget will be presented in the third week of February. Today, we had discussions relating to the Budget at the ministerial level. The finance department has already conducted a pre-budget consultation with different stakeholders including socio-economic groups and industrialists. The department is examining their considered views and the sectoral priorities will be decided factoring in their suggestions”, said state finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai.

The finance department had recently held a two-day pre-Budget consultative process with representatives of different socio-economic groups, industrial bodies, opinion makers, academicians, bureaucrats and finance journalists in the run up to the Budget.

The objective of the pre-Budget consultation is to assimilate the views of different sections of the society which would help the planners to make the budget more broad-based, people oriented and transparent, Ghadai had said.

The budget for 2012-13 is being compiled online, the first of its kind initiative taken by any state government in the country.The online process is expected to streamline information related to the budget and reduce dependence on budget branches of the finance department. The automated budget system will be extended to the level of controlling officer for flow of Budget proposal from the base level.

The total Plan size for the 12th Plan period (2012-17) is set to exceed Rs one lakh crore, more than three-fold jump compared to Rs 32225 crore for the 11th Plan (2007-12). The Budget outlay for 2011-12 was pegged at Rs 44878.97 crore, with a focus on fiscal consolidation, improvement in quality of public expenditure and attracting private investment through PPP (Public Private Partnership) projects.