Raje presents Rs 1,394 crore deficit interim Budget

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje presented a Rs 1,394 crore deficit Interim Budget for 2004-2005, seeking a vote-on-account for the first four months of the next fiscal in the Assembly.

The Interim Budget, that contained no announcements regarding taxes, estimated a gross deficit of Rs 1,394.48 crore, including a revenue deficit of Rs 3,103.02 crore.

Since the Centre had taken a vote-on-account, details of receipts to Rajasthan for the next financial year were yet to be correctly estimated.

The interim budgetary estimates had been prepared by the state government by calculating central receipts for the next financial year at its own level.

However, actual receipts were likely to be much more than the interim budgetary provisions, which would reduce the gross deficit, Raje said.

Although the vote-on-account was being sought for the first four months of the next fiscal, grants under three heads""election, drinking water and natural calamities""were being sought for the entire year as major expenditure is incurred on them during these months only, she said.

The revised budgetary estimates and proposals would be presented in the Assembly before July 31 this year, she said in the House, which later passed the vote-on-account.

In her brief Budget speech, Raje said according to the revised estimates for the current financial year ending March 31, the gross budgetary deficit this year would be Rs 282.37 crore, much less than the Rs 825.77 crore provided earlier.

Reduction in deficit had been achieved even though the Annual Plan size was raised from Rs 4,258 crore to Rs 6,398.23 crore by the new government to meet development needs of the state, she said.

The Interim Budget for 2004-2005 estimated total expenditure of Rs 36,102.63 crore. It estimated revenue expenditure of Rs 19,543.10 crore against revenue receipts of Rs 16,440.17 crore.

Raje said the annual Plan size of Rs 5,293.55 crore had earlier been proposed for 2004-2005 by the previous government but "we have proposed a bigger plan size of Rs 6,492.06 crore for which a discussion with the Planning Commission was yet to be held".

The Plan expenditure would be finalised and incorporated in the revised budgetary estimates after discussion with the Planning Commission in accordance with our priorities and people's expectations, she added.