Tuki presents Vote on Account for 4 months

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

Itagar, March 6: Aruchal Pradesh Chief Minister bam Tuki yesterday  presented the Vote on Account (estimated expenditure) for four months bfrom April to July for the fincial year 2015-16 along with Supplementary Demands for Grants (Revised Budget Estimate) for 2014-15.

 The estimates of expenditure in the Vote on Account are based on salaries, wages, pension and other essential revenue expenditure.

“An amount of Rs 371.22 crore has been estimated under plan and Rs 1415.08 crore under Non Plan,” Tuki, who also holds the Fince portfolio, said in his speech.

He said, there would be major changes in the pattern of assistance from the Centre from the next fincial year.

“In respect of various centrally sponsored schemes, the sharing pattern may undergo a change with states sharing a higher fiscal responsibility for scheme implementation,” he said. “Details of changes in sharing pattern will be worked out by the administrative ministry on the basis of available resources from union finces as the Planning Commission has been replaced by NITI AYOG with specific mandate for policy formulations. However, the details of the changes are yet to be received which, are necessary for preparation of the Budget Estimates for 2015-16,” he added.

He further disclosed that there has been a fundamental shift in the pattern of assistance to Aruchal under the Fourteen Fince Commission (FFC).

“The state is likely to receive a major assistance in the form of United Funds under share of central taxes,” he said.

The FFC’s (2015-20) recommendations had been tabled in the Parliament and its fund would subsequently flow, he informed.

“We have made all-out effort to project the genuine problems of the state which convinced the FFC to earmarked an amount of 7, 231 crore for the state for a period of five years (2015-20),” he disclosed.      

The annual plan outlay for 2014-15 was origilly fixed at Rs Rs 4915 crore at the Budget Estimate level. However, due to estimate deterioration in Balance from Current Revenues (BCR) mainly due to increase in non-plan revenue expenditure, the latest estimate of annual plan for 2014-15 has been arrived at Rs 4500 crore with a shortfall of Rs 415 crore, the chief minister said.

He said, the non-plan revenue receipts of revised budget estimates for 2014-15 has been filized at Rs 3080.87 crore, while the non-plan revenue expenditure of revised estimates for the year stand at Rs 4482.87 crore.

“The increase in the non-plan expenditure is largely due to expenditure on payment of salaries at enhanced DA of 107 per cent, enhanced allocation of pension payments, wages, expenditure on Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, payment liabilities of public distribution system, air freight, higher allocation for purchase of power and maintence of infrastructure,” he pointed out.

“The non-plan capital expenditure has been filized at Rs 473.07 crore and a large part of this is due to loan repayment to the extent of Rs 286.75 crore,” he added.