BHUBANESWAR: The State Government registered a revenue growth of 7 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal while the programme expenditure declined by 4 per cent.
“The total revenue collection up to August grew around 7 pc over the same period of last fiscal. The non-tax revenue increased by 12 pc while the augmentation of revenue from own tax sources had gone up by 5 pc,” said Principal Secretary, Finance, Ashok Meena. The total revenue collection till August was Rs 12,315 crore against Rs 11,758 crore during the corresponding period last year.
Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy reviewed the financial performance of the State at the All Secretaries meeting held at Kharavela Bhawan here on Tuesday. The Finance Secretary attributed the low expenditure in different programmes of the Government to the model code of conduct which was in force till May 25 for the 2019 general elections. The programme expenditure till August 2019 was 28 pc of the Budget provision while the fund utilisation during the same period last year was 32 pc.
The Chief Secretary requested the Secretaries to ensure expeditious implementation of sanctioned projects and utilisation of the budgeted amount in coming months.The departments were asked to implement the reforms in the field of Budget preparation, strengthening macro-fiscal forecasting, annual and medium term budgeting and introducing commitment control system for uninterrupted financing to various projects and programmes.
The progress of the projects sanctioned under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund was also reviewed. Development Commissioner Suresh Chandra Mohapatra appraised that total collection under DMF up to August, 2019 was Rs 8,252 crore against which the Rs 8,067 crore was allocated for 12,664 projects. Around 71 pc of the funds (Rs 5,722 crore) was allocated to 9,241 projects under priority activities. Out of this 73.50 pc has been utilised till August, 2019.
Reviewing the basic facilities and connectivity available, Tripathy directed the 10 identified departments to start operating from the new building as early as possible. Departments like Labour & ESI, Industry, Micro Small & Medium Enterprise, Housing and Urban Development, Forest & Environment, Energy, Science & Technology, Skill Development & Technical Education, Commerce & Transport, Electronic & Information Technology would function from this new building. BSNL was requested to complete the LAN connectivity for integration of the directorates with respective departments.