The State Cabinet is to meet on Thursday primarily to discuss the modalities involved in raising additional resources to cater to the financial commitments on account of various welfare and developmental programmes being implemented by the government.
Several issues, including the statement likely to be tabled by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on the floor of the Assembly during the one-day special session called to commemorate the diamond jubilee celebrations of the country’s independence are likely to be discussed during the meeting. But the primary focus will be on mobilising resources to meet requirements for schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu, recently launched Nethanna Bima — weavers’ insurance scheme — in the light of restrictions imposed by the Union Finance Ministry on the quantum of open market borrowings for the current financial year.
While the State has anticipated average revenue receipts of around ₹10,550 crore a month, totalling to ₹1.26 lakh crore at the end of the financial year, the monthly revenue receipts remained around ₹9,500 crore with the total receipts at the end of the first quarter standing at ₹29,212 crore. The State’s hopes of raising ₹15,000 crore open market borrowings during the first quarter however did not materialise as the government could raise just ₹7,000 crore on an ad hoc basis thanks to the restrictions imposed by the Union Finance Ministry.
The Union Ministry had however permitted the State to raise borrowings after a series of meetings it held subsequently with Finance department Special Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao and Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar. There is however no clarity on the final annual figure though.
On its part, the government had taken several measures to augment revenue receipts like enhancement of life tax on all types of vehicles, increase in liquor prices and sale of residential units and plots. Offering one time settlement scheme for legacy taxes, imposition of green tax and revision of registration charges and market values of lands were some other measures initiated by the government to augment its resources.
In this backdrop, the Cabinet meeting is likely to discuss about modalities to enhance own tax revenues as well as scope for reducing the expenditure being incurred. The discussion is necessitated as the government had announced its intentions to provide financial assistance to poor willing to construct houses on their own lands, pending dues under farm loan waiver and providing social security pensions under Aasara scheme to eligible beneficiaries who crossed 57 years.
The discussion is likely to focus on alternative arrangements facilitating release of funds for irrigation projects following the queries raised by Union Finance Ministry on off budget borrowings which would be treated as State’s borrowings.
