After promulgation of President’s Rule in the national Capital, the lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung on Tuesday directed finance department officials to finalise ‘vote on account’ for the next six months that will be sent to the Centre for Presidential Assent and the same may be co-opted in the Ordinance Bill that will be finalised within a week.
Delhi Government seems to have fallen in a financial trap where the situation seems to have reached a point which is beyond recovery. The target for revenue collection had been fixed at Rs 30,454 crore for the fiscal ending March 31 which has been hastily reduced to Rs 27,000 crore. Top sources said that the lieutenant-Governor has directed Commissioners VAT and Excise to improve collections in the current financial year that will be ending on March 31.
As per data available with the pioneer, Delhi government has spent only Rs 8,562 crore of the total plan outlet of Rs 15,000 crore till January 2014 while only Rs 7,215 crore was spent in 2012-13. As far as non plan is concerned, Rs 16,667 crore has been spent till January this year 2013-14 while Rs 13,956 crore was spent in the previous year 2012-13.
The l-G has a major task in his hand as the Arvind Kejriwal Government did not present Delhi’s Budget for 2014-15 in the Assembly session. So there is no approved fund for expenditure from April 1 onwards. Delhi Government employees would get their salaries till February. But their salary for March will be released on April 1.
If the vote on account is not presented on time for Parliament’s approval, the lieutenant-Governor may forward the Budget to the President straightaway through Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The President will approve the Budget in the form of an Ordinance.