Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav presented an interim budget projecting a deficit of Rs 5,181 crore in the next fiscal and sought approval from Governor Bl Joshi to spend Rs 80,086 crore for the first four months of the new financial year.
The interim budget was passed by voice vote. There was no schedule of new demands in the interim budget as Yadav, who is also the state Finance Minister, said the Government was seeking money for on-going schemes and non-plan expenditures. "As the Union Government has dovetailed 142 projects into 66 schemes and has decided to release Central assistance through consolidated fund in a phased manner, we were not able to prepare the state's annual scheme. Thus, my Government is forced to bring this interim budget for the first four months of the next fiscal," Yadav said in his address while presenting the interim budget in the Assembly on Friday.
The Government expects a receipt of Rs 2,54,666.97 crore in 2014-15. Of this Rs 2,15,846.70 crore would be revenue receipt and Rs 38,827 crore as capital receipt. Against these receipts, the total expenditure would be Rs 2,59,848.68 crore --Rs 1,97,857. 31 crore would be revenue expenditure and Rs 61,991.37 crore would be capital expenditure. Thus, the total loss expected in 2014-15 would be Rs 5,181.71 crore.
"The exact profit or loss expected in 2014-15 would only be analysed after finalising the full budget," the Chief Minister said. The White Paper released on the expenditure and earnings of the Government during 2013-14 shows that receipts were expected to be Rs 2,15,919.82 crore but the revised estimate was Rs 199,708.73 crore, which was Rs 16,210 crore less than the expected figure. There was decline of Rs 5,000 crore in state's share in Central taxes and Rs 3,093 crore in the state's own tax collection. This is the reason for the state getting less loans from NABARD and open market.
As per the White Paper, the state got Rs 500 crore less loan from NABARD and Rs 178.90 crore less loan from open market. The state's main source of revenue centres around its own taxes, state's share in the Central taxes, loans from financial organisations and other receipts. In the present fiscal, the state is expected to collect less taxes. Against the expected tax collection of Rs 72,193 crore, the state could fetch only Rs 69,100 crore. This was because of less collection of sales and trade taxes and stamp duty for registration.