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The Maharashtra government, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, on Tuesday presented a Rs 5,417 crore revenue-deficit Budget for 2014-15.
The government refrained from making any populist proposals but said its Rs 184 crore revenue-surplus Budget would become a revenue deficit one of Rs 3,017 crore for 2013-14. This was due to heavy expenditure for natural calamity relief (about Rs 5,000 crore), subsidy for 20 per cent power cut for MahaVitaran consumers (Rs 1,212 crore for January & February), implementation of food security scheme (Rs 250 crore) and modernisation of madrassas (Rs 450 crore).
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance department, told the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly the interim Budget for 2014-15 indicates revenue receipts of Rs 1,69,908 crore and revenue expenditure of Rs 1,75,325 crore.
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Pawar said the state would be able to achieve the tax collection targets for 2013-14 despite an economic slowdown. He, however, informed the tax relief in essential commodities given up to March 31, 2014, has been extended up to March 31, 2015.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan strongly justified the government’s decision to approve the 20 per cent power rate cut across 21.7 million consumers of MahaVitaran. “The cut was especially necessary for industrial consumers to remain competitive in comparison with other states. An annual outgo would be Rs 9,000 crore towards subsidy to MahaVitaran. The decision was taken despite the slowdown and the dip in GDP growth at the national and state level,” he said.
The government has proposed the annual Plan size of Rs 51,223 crore for 2014-15. Nearly Rs 6,044 crore (11.8 per cent) of the proposed annual Plan size has been earmarked for the Scheduled Castes sub Plan and Rs 4,815 crore (9.4 per cent) for the tribal sub Plan. About Rs 5,902 crore has been earmarked for the district annual plan for 2014-15.
Pawar told reporters the state’s public debt of Rs 3 lakh crore was 17.2 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) against the national norm of 25.5 per cent. The per person debt comes to nearly Rs 30,000 in Maharashtra as on date.
Besides, the state’s fiscal deficit is 1.7 per cent against the prudential norm of three per cent. He strongly rejected allegations leveled by the Opposition that the government was bankrupt due to ballooning public debt. Instead, Pawar said the Centre, especially the Planning Commission, has been asking the government not to approach them for additional funds but further meet their fund requirement through raising debt.
The interest payment is 13.5 per cent of GSDP, which is well below the national level of 20 per cent. Pawar gave a broad list of the government’s achievements since it took over in 1999 and said the per capita annual income grew to Rs 1,05,493 crore and literacy rate climbed to 83 per cent.
Irrigation incentive
The government, which is under attack for the alleged multi crore irrigation scam, has made an allocation of Rs 8,215 crore for irrigation projects.
