Gujarat may have been accused by many of hiding information on many counts during post-Godhra riots, but when it comes to transparency in revealing information about Budget, it has emerged as the highest ranking states among 10 surveyed by a body that works for participatory governance and analyses budgets for its pro-people stance.
However, the ranking should be read with riders that even Gujarat did not get 100 per cent on any of the 8 parameters selected by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) for its survey and is not the top ranking state among all the yardsticks. This means that all states need to improve upon the transparency in making various information about the Budget to the public.
On all parameters combined, Gujarat got the highest 6.1.7 per cent marks against average of 51.6 per cent for all states. In parameters like availability of budget documents, completeness of the information, timeliness of information, the state got the maximum marks. However, it fared badly in audit and performance assessment, practices relating to fiscal decentralisation.
In yardsticks like facilitating understanding and interpretation of the information, scope for legislative scrutiny, its marks were average. In a parameter practices relating to budgeting for disadvantaged sections, Gujarat scored 63 per cent, behind 71 per cent got by Chhatisgarh, and 70 per cent received by Madhya Pradesh.
Overall, Madhya Pradesh followed Guarjat closely with 60.2 per cent score. Uttar Pradesh got the least 43.5 per cent. Other states surveyed are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra Orissa and Rajasthan.
However, all states need to improve transparency and should come out with a separate statement on the estimated revenue foregone for reasons such as tax exemptions like given to SEZs, should bring out action taken report on the observations of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the state budget etc, CBGA observed. When asked as to why the body has come out with a survey on state budgets, when all eyes are focused on the Centre's budget on February 28, CBGA Director Subrat Das said most states present budgets during February 15 and March 15.
So far as the Centre is concerned, CBGA does not have any survey, said Das, but added that their analyses of various budgets by the Union Government showed that the Centre fares over states in terms of availability of budget documents, timeliness of information, audit and performance assessment, scope for legislative scrutiny. But it scores worse than states in terms of practices relating to fiscal decentralisation etc.
Das said the proposed Direct Taxes Code is likely to improve transparency of the Union Budget, but much depends on the way the Act is rolled out.
