Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday ordered curtailing of extraordinary expenditure in the times of Covid -19 pandemic. His order came after an assessment on tax collection and expenditure in the initial two months span of the financial year 2021-22 was done.
As per the revenue department records, Delhi Government’s tax collection has declined however its expenditure increased by 80 per cent. “The revenue receipts of Delhi have been Rs 5,273.26 crore during the first two months of the financial year 2021-22, while its expenditure has reached Rs 8,511.09 crore. Delhi has incurred Rs 3,237.83 crore more than its receipts which were met from last year’s savings,” Sisodia said.
He said the expenditure of the Delhi Government has increased around 80 per cent during the first two months of the financial year 2021-22 as compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year, due to Covid-19.
Previously, the expenditure in the first two months was Rs 4,705.14 crore in (2019-20) and Rs 4,965.58 crore in 2020-21. However, due to the unprecedented Covid surge, the expenditure during the first two months has jumped to Rs 8,511.09 crore in 2021-22, according to a Government statement.
“The tax collection has declined due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown, while the expenditure has increased in comparison with the previous years for implementation of various relief and other measures to check the spread of Covid-19,” Sisodia said.
The Delhi Government has issued an order on expenditure management and rationalisation of expenditure to keep the expenditure within the resources, in times of Covid-19 pandemic, beyond the expenditure for essential and day to day functions.
Further, the various welfare schemes being run for the citizens of Delhi will remain unchanged,” the statement added.