State budget projects revenue deficit of Rs 1036 crore

The state Budget for 2010-11 pegged at Rs 39,896.6 crore has projected a revenue deficit of Rs 1036.65 crore for the fiscal while emphasizing on fiscal consolidation and the introduction of a Cash Management System to ensure timely spending of budgetary outlays and avoiding a rush of expenditure in the last quarter of any fiscal.

While the total budget outlay for the current fiscal is a 13.98 per cent growth over the budget size of Rs 35,001.45 crore of the previous fiscal, the projected revenue deficit represents a 56.24 per cent slump compared to the deficit of Rs 2369.10 crore projected in the previous fiscal.

“We have projected a revenue deficit in the state budget for 2010-11 like the previous fiscal. Besides our focus on sectors like agriculture and allied activities, water resources and infrastructure development, we have planned to put in place a Cash Management System from the current financial year which will curtail the spending in the last month of any fiscal from 40 per cent to 15 per cent”, state finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai told reporters after presenting the full-fledged budget for 2010-11 in the state legislative assembly today.

He also said, a high-level committee has been constituted to bring about tax reforms.

It may be noted that the state finance minister had presented the Vote-on-Account for the first four months of the fiscal (April-July).

The Cash Management System will be introduced in 10 key departments through the Monthly Expenditure Plan and Quarterly Expenditure Allocation for 2010-11.

The concerned departments will have enhanced financial power and full operational autonomy to spend the budgeted outlay as per the quarterly targets.

Out of the total budget outlay of Rs 39,896.6 crore, the Non-plan expenditure has been pegged at Rs 26,978.81 crore, State Plan at Rs 10015.47 crore, the Central Plan at Rs 1093.94 crore and the Centrally sponsored plan at Rs 1808.37 crore.

“Our total borrowings for the current fiscal has been estimated at about Rs 4000 crore which is about 40 per cent of the State Plan and in accordance with the targets of the 13 th Finance Commission. We are hopeful of reaching the zero revenue deficit level by 2011-12 and bring down the fiscal deficit to three per cent by that period”, said finance secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra.

The state budget for 2010-11 has earmarked rs 1046.98 crore for agriculture and allied activities, Rs 2978.55 crore for water resources, Rs 343.94 crore for fisheries and animal development, Rs 607.95 crore for forest and environment, Rs 1538.53 crore for health and family welfare and Rs 5273.39 crore for school and mass education.

Besides, Rs 1519.46 crore and Rs 1029.50 crore have been allocated for the Panchayati Raj department and the ST& SC department respectively.

The state's debt stock has been estimated a Rs 43523.11 crore by the end of 2010-11 and the net addition of Rs 4160.97 crore during this fiscal.