Chhattisgarh seems to have set an example for smaller states when it comes to fiscal discipline. The Plan expenditure in the state has overshot non-Plan expenditure in last five years.
In 2003-04, the financial year when the BJP government assumed office in December 2003, the state’s Plan expenditure was Rs 3,082 crore and non-Plan expenditure was Rs 5,091 crore. However, according to the revised estimates for 2007-08, Plan expenditure rose to Rs 8,659 crore as against non-Plan expenditure of Rs 8,027 crore.
In the budget estimates for 2008-09, the Plan outlay has been fixed at Rs 10,154 crore and non-Plan outlay at Rs 8,131 crore. “It is a big achievement for any state to establish the ratio of 60 and 40 per cent for Plan and non-Plan expenditures,” D N Tewari, vice-chairman of State Planning Board, said.
Over the last five years, the tax and non-tax revenues have also increased. In 2003-04, the total tax revenue was Rs 2,588 crore and non-tax revenue Rs 1,124 crore. According to the budget estimates for 2008-09, the tax revenue has been estimated at Rs 6,537 crore and non-tax revenue at Rs 1,819 crore.
Chhattisgarh achieved zero revenue deficit in 2005-06, much ahead of the 2008-09 deadline set by the Twelfth Finance Commission. The fiscal deficit also remains well within 3 per cent.
The establishment expenditure is around 40 per cent of the total expenditure and over the past few years, the need to avail of the overdraft facility never arose. In the last three years, the state has also never availed market loan. “The state had made a number of appointments, including that of teachers (about 47,000 ‘shiksha karmis’) and policemen (about 20,000), in the last five years. This could be one of the reasons for increase in the establishment expenditure,” Tewari said, adding, “The notable point is that the state is spending more on Plan than non-Plan heads.”
In 2001-02, the budget allocation for the Public Works Department (PWD) was Rs 339 crore, which was increased to Rs 1,976 crore in 2007-08. Roads and bridges worth Rs 1,800 crore were constructed in the state in the last five years. The irrigation potential in the state has also increased to 30 per cent from 22 per cent in the last five years.
The state has made a big achievement in power sector as Chhattisgarh has now become a zero-power cut state. The state government has also sealed pacts with 51 private investors for setting up power plant in the coal-rich state to produce 40,095 Mw electricity. The per capita income has also increased from Rs 15,882 to Rs 20,326 (according to the advance estimates for 2007-08).
In the field of education, the state government has concentrated on infrastructure creation. Now, there is no government school in the state that does not have its own building. The state government has also appointed 47,282 shiksha karmis to fulfil the demand for teachers.
Naxalism has been the biggest law and order problem in the state. But the state government has succeeded in putting the rebels on the backfoot by launching well-planned operations in their pockets of influence. During the last five years, 274 security personnel, 224 Naxalites and 778 civilians have been killed in the Naxal violence.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said the state government had moved on the right track to end the Naxal problem. Though the menace could not be ended, he said, if the BJP came to power again, the red army would see its end.
The Opposition Congress is, however, not convinced with the fiscal management of the state government. “The BJP government reinstated a number of corporations, boards and agencies that unnecessarily increased the burden on the state exchequer and hence the establishment expenditure,” Congress General Secretary Ramesh Varlyani said.
“The biggest failure of the state government is that the number of below poverty line (BPL) families in the state has increased from 1.7 million to 3.6 million in last five years,” he said, adding that the state government talked about the development while most of its departments could hardly spend 50 per cent of the budget allocated.
