Ahead of the Assembly Elections, West Bengal's vote-on- account for the first four months of the financial year today coincided with the release of opposition Trinamool Congress manifesto.
Ironically, state finance minister, Asim Dasgupta's and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's speeches had a lot in common: creation of land bank, opposition to globalisation and disinvestment, creation of jobs and minority developmental, found place in both.
The state government presented a Rs 3 crore limited deficit budget, against Rs 7 crore last year.
The state's accumulated debt burden fell from Rs 1.92 crore in the previous year to Rs 1.86 crore in the current year, though a marginal fall of just three per cent. The state's debt burden had increased by 29 per cent last year(Rs 1,48,110 crore in 2008-09).
On the condition of having started implementation of the the FRBM act, the central government has given a total debt relief of Rs 536. 59 crore, against the demand of Rs 1464 crore, to the state government.
While stating opposition to the FRBM Act due to its adverse impact on welfare schemes, West Bengal finance minister Asim Dasgupta said that for reasons of partial debt-relief and condition of Central grant, the state has enacted the FRBM legislation, with a step-by-step reduction in ratios of fiscal and revenue deficit to GSDP.
The total expenditure of the state has been at pegged at Rs 77,510 crore in the current year, against Rs 68,134 crore last year, a rise of about 13.8 per cent. This included, almost three fold rise in allocation for minority development and Madarshah eduction to Rs 310 crore in the current year and nearly doubling of allocation for a recently started land distribution scheme to Rs 40 crore. The total non-plan expenditure is pegged to increase to Rs 60,392 crore, a rise of 11.90 per cent over the last year.
Due to rise in revenue and less borrowing the state's fiscal deficit is projected to almost half in the current year to 3.9 per cent (6.2 per cent last year), and the revenue deficit is slated to be at 3.1 per cent (5.4 per cent). The loan to the GSDP ratio of the state has remained almost the same at 40.4 per cent, against 41.9 per cent last year.
The total revenue receipt for 2011-12 has been pegged at about Rs 64,000 crore, against nearly Rs 52,000 crore last year.
At the same time, under the receipts head, the total public debt is pegged at Rs 33,000 crore in 2010-11 budget estimates, against Rs 34,000 crore in the 2010-11 revised estimates.
Dasgupta said, tax collection had grown by more than 33 per cent during year. Also, employment generation would touch eight lakh on the back of 8.3 per cent growth in state domestic product, he said.
