Jammu and Kashmir's total expenditure increased from 2014 to 2019: CAG

Jammu and Kashmir's total expenditure, which includes revenue expenditure, capital outlay and disbursement of loans and advances, increased from Rs 34,550 crore to Rs 64,572 crore from 2014 to 2019, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has said.

For 2018-2019, the overall position of the budget estimate was Rs 1,11,850 crore and the expenditure was 95,386 crore. The figures stand at Rs 53,897 crore for budget estimates and Rs 62,296 crore for actual expenditure in 2014, the CAG said in its report on social, general, economic and revenue for the year ended March 31, 2019.

The report, which was recently tabled in Parliament, said the budget estimates and actual expenditure for 2015-16 was Rs 62,726 crore and Rs 79,281 crore, respectively, while the budget estimate was Rs 80,465 crore and actual expenditure was Rs 85,084 crore in 2016-17.

 

The budget estimate was Rs 89,939 crore and actual expenditure Rs 89,624 crore in 2017-18, it said.

"The total expenditure of the state (Jammu and Kashmir) increased from Rs 34,550 crore to Rs 64,572 crore during the period from 2014 to 2019, while the revenue expenditure increased by 91 per cent from Rs 29,329 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 56,090 crore in 2018-19," the CAG said.

The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir became a union territory after the Centre on August 5, 2019, revoked its special status. The state was divided in to the union territory's of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Before the development, the BJP pulled out from the PDP-led government in June 2018.

The report that said non-plan or normal revenue expenditure increased by 102 per cent from Rs 26,457 crore to Rs 53,578 crore and capital expenditure increased by 64 per cent from Rs 5,134 crore to Rs 8,413 crore during the period from 2014 to 2019.

The revenue expenditure constituted 80 to 87 per cent of the total expenditure during the years from 2014 to 2019 and capital expenditure 13 to 20 per cent, it said.

During the year 2018-19, the CAG said the overall receipts of the Jammu and Kashmir government increased by 5.6 per cent over the previous year.

However, the revenue raised by the government -- Rs 14,175.70 crore -- was 28 per cent of the total revenue receipts against 29 per cent in the preceding year, it said, adding the balance 72 per cent of the receipts during 2018-19 came from the Centre of which 62.25 per cent was received in the form of grants-in-aid.

The grants-in-aid from the Centre constituted 45.02 per cent of the total receipts of the erstwhile state, the report said.

The Centre transferred Rs 895 crore directly to various state implementing agencies, including institutions, corporations and societies, without routing these through the state budget during the year 2018-19.

"Consequently, these amounts remained outside the scope of the Annual Accounts (Finance Accounts and Appropriation Accounts) of the state government during the year," the report said.

The CAG said the total grants-in-aid from the Centre, increased from Rs 16,150 crore (2014-15) to Rs 23,066 crore (2018-19).

"There was an increase in actual receipts in 2018-19 over 2017-18 ranging between 4.74 per cent and 55.01 per cent under the heads 'Taxes on Vehicles', 'Taxes and Duties on Electricity', 'Taxes on Goods & Passengers', 'Land Revenue' and 'State Excise'," it said.

"However, there was a decrease of about three per cent to 99.96 per cent under the heads 'Taxes on Sales and Trade including GST', 'Stamps and Registration Fees' and 'Others'. Decrease of 99.96 per cent under the head 'Others' was mainly due to subsuming of entertainment tax under GST with effect from 8 July 2017," the CAG said.

It said there was an increase ranging from 1.65 per cent to 172.11 per cent in actual collections from medical and public health, power and interest receipts, non-ferrous mining and metallurgical industries, forestry and wildlife and Police over the previous year.

Whereas, receipt under other non-tax receipts, water supply and sanitation and public works had decreased by 12.93 per cent to 41.78 per cent, the report stated.