The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is likely to continue with the decade-old practice of presenting an interim budget to meet the expenditure requirements for the first few months of a new financial year.
According to a source, like in the past, the government will seek approval of the Legislative Assembly for a vote on account during this month to meet its day-to-day financial commitments for the first few months of the next financial year. With the current financial year coming to an end this month, the government has to plan the expenditure requirement for the next financial year and get the approval of the House.
“We are likely to present a vote on account in the coming days and present a full budget in the course of next fiscal,” a government source told The Hindu.
The Centre had already set aside ₹1,729 crore for 2022-23 as financial assistance for the Union Territory.
The principal Opposition, DMK, had submitted a memorandum to the Speaker urging him to direct the government to discard the practice of presenting interim budget and asked to table a full budget in the Assembly. If the NDA goes ahead with a vote on account, it will be the eleventh one in successive years.
According to a financial expert on the Union Territory affairs, though the government may have its own considerations of presenting a vote on account, the practice would hamper continuity in development works. “Presenting a full budget for seven to eight months of a financial year will certainly lack vision. It will only remain an expenditure statement and affords no room to plan much on capital expenditure which is must for Union Territory to generate growth and employment opportunity,” he said.
The reason for preferring a vote on account could be because of the uncertainty on the GST compensation due for the Union Territory. Since it is the last year of the GST compensation, the government could be anticipating a good settlement.
Also, the government could be expecting enhanced Central assistance after the Chief Minister sought an additional ₹2000 crore from the Union Government to tide over the revenue shortfall, he said.
“Maybe, if the government gets an early GST settlement and increased assistance, the budget could be prepared with a better capital outlay. There are also reports that some of the departments have incurred a lesser expenditure this fiscal and the final figure will be known after the end of this month. Without knowing the leftover amount, allocations made to the departments for the next fiscal will not be proper,” he told The Hindu.
However, the bottom line is that continuous dependence on presenting interim budgets will not augur well for the Union Territory as the annual financial statement was considered a vision document for short-term, mid-term and long-term growth, an academician said.
“Presenting a full budget, almost through half of the financial year, will not serve development goals. Say, the government is going to present a full budget in July or August, as was the norm followed in the last 10 years, you are left with seven to eight months in the fiscal to implement a plan.
For the last one decade, the Union Territory has lost the first few months of the beginning of every financial year. Normally vote on accounts are presented by governments, whether it is Central or State, when an incumbent regime faces election. In the Union Territory, whether there is election or not, interim budgets have become the norm,” said a former government official.
