BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Friday presented the first supplementary budget of Rs 11,200 crore in the Assembly as part of re-prioritisation of allocations with COVID-19 pandemic at the centre of focussed efforts.
Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari said the provisions include Rs 2,273 crore for administrative expenditure, Rs 7,438 crore for programme expenditure, Rs 1,484 crore towards disaster management funds and Rs 5 crore towards transfer to local bodies.
The Minister said the focus of the budget is on health, food and social security, livelihood and employment generation, besides, giving a boost to domestic demand and revival of the State economy.
The packages announced by the Chief Minister like COVID-19 warrior special assistance and in handloom, textiles and handicraft sector, MSME and Mission Shakti have been fully funded, he said.
The size of the supplementary budget is about 7.5 per cent of the 2021 Budget estimates, which adhere to the good practices of keeping the provision well below 10 per cent of the annual budget.
Stating that the allocations under the administrative expenditure and transfer to local bodies are to be financed against adjustment and surrender, the Finance Minister said that allocations under the disaster management funds will be financed against year-end balance and anticipated receipts from the National Disaster Response Fund.
Besides, programme expenditure of Rs 7,438 crore is to be partially financed by tied-up resources amounting to Rs 2,755 crore and balance requirement of Rs 4,683 crore will be met out of savings and surrender during the year.
Pujari said the pace of expenditure was also affected due to COVID shutdowns. During the first half of the current financial year, total revenue receipts declined by about 6.5 per cent mainly due to shortfall in the Central transfer. During the period, State's own revenue has shown a moderate growth of 1.7 per cent in spite of the impact of the pandemic, he added.
Till the end of September, the State had a revenue surplus of Rs 6,790 crore and cumulative debt stock was Rs 97,823 crore, which is 16.4 per cent of the GSDP. Pujari said with the gradual opening up of the economy, the revenue receipts have started showing up in recent months.
He said that the government is emphasising on realisation of arrear revenue and mopping up of resources to ensure higher revenue generation and lower dependence on borrowing. However, the Finance Minister said, "We have to continue with the cautious approach as possibility of another wave of Covid infection as witnessed in other countries cannot be ruled out."