Assam to present first paperless budget

BUDGET 2018-19

*    Budget presentation to be live on facebook & twitter

*    Google App to upload the budget

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, March 11: Assam will create a history on Monday when Fince Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will present the State’s first paperless budget in the Assembly.

The paperless or E-budget for the fincial year 2018-19 will be tabled in the ongoing budget session of Assam Assembly with various new features. As part of the plan, each legislator will be provided a tablet that will have the e-budget. Budget generally has two components – Fince Minister’s speech and detailed department-wise break-up of allocation. And both the components will be loaded onto the tablets. Majority of MLAs have already undergone an orientation programme as how to use the tablets. 

“In tablets each and every detail of the budget will be mentioned. In the past when paper budgets were presented most of the MLAs used to take away only the budget speech of the fince minister with them. So the MLAs often faced hassles whenever they had to deal with departments’ wise allocation of funds. With introduction of tablets the MLAs can easily access any information and data relating to the budget. Thus introduction of e-budget will create more accountability and transparency in the Assembly,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday afternoon Sarma said Assam will be the second State in the country to introduce e-budget after Andhra Pradesh. He said the budget presentation will be made live on facebook and twitter so that maximum number of people could know the budget features. The budget will also be uploaded in google app so that it remains in public domain, he said, adding the leading newspapers of the State will publish the entire budget on Tuesday or Wednesday in supplementary style.  

Asserting that the budget for the next fiscal year will be citizens centric Sarma said the officials and experts engaged with preparation of the budget visited 40 educatiol institutions and 17 districts to know feedbacks of younger generation and cross section of people. The Fince department has received 1000 suggestions from citizens for the budget and it tried to incorporate most of the suggestions in the 2018-19 budget, the Fince Minister said.

Sarma said most of suggestions emphasized on earmarking more funds for better urban living, maintaining balance ecology and improvement of health and education sectors.

According to Sarma along with the budget the government will present an audit document highlighting the present status of implementation of various projects mentioned in the budget for 2016-17.

Rejecting the allegations raised by the Opposition that the present government has failed to utilize funds allocated in the budget for 2017-18, Sarma said the budget expenditures will be more in the current fiscal than the previous years.