 "Drought, water crisis and farmer suicides are key issues over which the state govt is likely to face flak from the Opposition")
The state government faces a big challenge in the coming session of the legislature, starting on Wednesday, on a variety of issues.
These include drought in 25,000-odd villages, farmer suicides, burgeoning revenue deficit, law and order issues and the politics of licensing dance bars.
The government fears that the revenue deficit, which was expected to be Rs 3,757 crore by end of 2015-16, will increase manifold. Converting revenue expenditure into capital expenditure is a major task for the government and the opposition has decided to hit the former on this delicate issue. The Budget session begins on March 9.
In the wake of strong criticism by the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, the entire state Cabinet had toured drought-hit districts last week. Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh’s statement in Parliament that 3,228 farmers had committed suicide in Maharashtra in the past year has given ammunition to the opposition.
Further, the government with a public debt of Rs 3.60 lakh crore is reeling under a major financial crisis. Its annual outgo towards interest payment is well over Rs 25,000 crore.
The government had to bear an extra financial burden of Rs 7,200 crore due to fulfillment of poll promises including abolition of toll tax at 53 plazas and the cancellation of local body tax (LBT) for traders with turn over of below Rs 50 crore. The state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had assumed that the government will get compensation from the Centre following the introduction of goods & services tax from April 1. However, all his calculations have gone haywire. Mungantiwar will table his second budget on March 18.
On top of it, the government has so far spent Rs 4,000 crore on relief and rehabilitation in drought hit districts. This is not enough, the slide in tax collection especially during the slump has created further pressure on state finances.
Against its target of Rs 85,000 crore for 2015-16, the government has so far managed to collect VAT of Rs 67,000 crore. This apart, it could only mobilise Rs 6,000 crore against its target of Rs 15,000 crore from the excise duty. The government has seen dip in the collection of stamps and registration duty too.
Leader of opposition in the state Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and leader of opposition in the state council Dhananjay Munde alleged that the government has failed on all fronts. Both said the government’s failure to put up its case strongly led to the Supreme Court last week gave three days to prospective dance bar owners to comply with the new conditions after which they will be issued licenses within 10 days. The court order came after the Maharashtra government watered down some of the conditions for granting of dance bar licences.
The state minister of legislative affairs Girish Bapat however, said the government was ready to hold debate on all issues to be raised by the opposition parties.
