Validity of the vote-on-account budget presented on February 10 will expire on July 31.
The State government is reportedly preparing to present a full budget for financial year 2024-25 by July 31, without awaiting details of the quantum of devolutions from the Centre.
The government is said to be considering the option as the four-month deadline for the vote-on-account budget presented on February 10 will end on July 31. The vote-on-account budget, a constitutional provision allowing advance grant to the government to cover short-term expenditure, was necessitated in view of the similar budget presented by the Centre ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Deputy Chief Minister (Finance) Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said, at the time of budget presentation, that it was little disheartening to present a vote-on-account budget, but it was necessitated as the Centre had presented a similar budget in view of the impending Lok Sabha polls.
The government had been asserting that it had clear understanding of the need to obtain maximum funds from the Centre under its various schemes. “We will be able to have a reasonable estimate of the funds that might be transferred to us only if a full-scale budget is presented by the Government of India,” he had said.
With the poll process completed, the BJP-led NDA government is said to be gearing up to present the full budget on July 22. This would mean that clarity on scheme-wise and ministry-wise allocations to the State would be known only during the course of discussion on demands for grants, which would continue till the end of the session in August first week.
The State government is said to be considering passing the budget by July 31 to avoid legal problems arising out of the expiry of the vote-on-account budget. It is of the view that the exact budgetary allocations to each department could be fixed with additions/deletions based on the Central devolutions during the discussions on supplementary grants.
Accordingly, Mr. Bhatti Vikramarka has initiated the exercise to assess department-wise revenue anticipated and likely expenditure for the fiscal with the secretaries and heads of individual departments. The exercise will continue on a daily basis till July 27, after which a clear picture is likely to emerge on the total outlay for the fiscal.
