Delhi Government’s revenue deficit has crossed over Rs6,000 crore in the current financial year due to recess in sale and purchase of properties and non-payment of taxes.
The total budget of the current fiscal year also reduced from Rs36,766 crore to Rs34,790 crore. Strangely, only 61 per cent of the total Plan budget was utilised till February. Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia, however, said that the revenue collection shortfall is around Rs4,500 crore in the current fiscal. But the assessment of revenue document reveals that there is a shortfall of over Rs6,000 crore till February 23.
Total VAT collection is Rs17,729 crore till February 23 against the revised target of Rs19,000 crore. The revenue from stamp and registration fee is only Rs2,652 crore while the revised target is fixed at Rs3,000 crore. Similarly, the revenue from excise is Rs3,229 crore that is also less than the revised target of Rs3,550 crore. The Rs1,487 crore taxes collected from motor vehicle also falls short of the target Rs1,600 crore. Total revenue collection is only Rs30,012.92 crore till February 23 as against Rs36,766 crore of the total budget.
Due to revenue deficit, the Finance Minister has reduced the Plan size from Rs16,700 crore to Rs15,450 crore and non-Plan size from Rs19,066 crore to Rs18,440 crore in the revised budget of the current financial year.
Delhi Government has also announced cut in the Centrally-sponsored scheme from Rs1,000 crore to Rs900 crore. In the revised non-Plan expenditure, Rs4,751 crore is for payment of interest and principal to GoI. Besides, it includes Rs2,380 crore as devolution of taxes and Rs1,291 crore as share of stamps and registration fee and motor vehicle tax to local bodies.
There is a provision of Rs1,083 crore for DTC to meet its operating deficit and cost of concessional passes and Rs351 crore towards power and water subsidy to domestic consumers. It would be noted that Delhi’s economy has a predominant service sector with a share of 87.48 per cent of gross State Domestic Product (SDP).