HYDERABAD: With the dwindling of state finances, the Finance Department stated that their main task for the next financial year is the “optimal allocation of scarce resources taking into account many social-political considerations”.The Finance Department on Saturday directed heads of departments (HoDs) to prepare the budget estimates for the next fiscal year (2020-2021).
According to the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, the total Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected by the State government up to November 2019 is around Rs 18,218.47 crore.
This is just 58.42 per cent of the total estimated GST collection of Rs 31,186.67 crore for the year 2019-20. Against this backdrop, the Finance Department directed the officials to take extreme care while preparing the budget estimates.
“The government is committed to bring transparency in expenditure and also utilise the available scarce resources with the utmost care and to extend maximum benefit to the needy people,” Finance Principal Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao told all the HoDs and secretaries and directed them to prepare the estimate of their respective departments keeping the same in mind.
The Finance Department asked HoDs to review the existing committed expenditure very critically so that expenditure that does not serve any tangible purpose substantially shall be dropped or phased out or reduced. It also asked the HoDs to avoid speculative estimations or over/under projections.
“The total expenditure, irrespective of revenue or capital, must generate value for the public,” said Ramakrishna Rao. The department also stated that projections for maintenance, office establishment — vehicles, rents, water and electricity, office stationery — outsourced services, welfare and subsidy programmes should be based on the actual needs with proper justification. All budget estimates should be submitted online to the administrative departments of the Secretariat concerned by January 2. The administrative departments of Secretariat shall forward the estimates to the Finance department with their comments by January 4.