State Govt hangs on to Centre for financial support: AG
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 05 2018: Against Rs 9678.58 crore received by the State Government as financial aid from the Centre during 2016-17, the State Government was able to collect revenue of just 751.47 crore.

The revenue collection rate is quite low and the State Government's investment pattern shows that it has little interest in developing assets which can generate revenue, said AG Manipur D Jaisankar.

Speaking to media persons at their Babupara office today, AG Jaisankar said that the State Government received Rs 9678.58 during 2016-17 including revenue receipt of Rs 9129.12 crore and capital receipt of Rs 549.46 crore.

The actual amount of revenue collected by the State was just Rs 751.47 crore while the State Government received Rs 3757.13 crore as State share from Central taxes/duties.

During the same financial year, the State Government received Rs 4620.52 crore as grant-in-aid.

The AG remarked that the State Government has been investing very little in creating assets which can generate revenue.

The situation is so pathetic that the State is virtually surviving on grants or financial aids given by the Central Government, he said.

Out of Rs 2244.06 crore invested by the State Government in different departments, more than 50 per cent that is, Rs 1464.91 crore was invested in Autonomous District Councils of hill districts.

Out of the total grant-in-aid amount, Rs 607.35 crore was invested in private undertakings, Rs 39.06 crore in urban local bodies and Rs 86.72 crore in NGOs.

The total revenue expenditure for 2016-17 was Rs 8184.76 crore.

The lion's share of the revenue expenditure that is; Rs 3088.15 crore (37.3 per cent) went to paying employees' salaries and Rs 1060.99 crore (12.96 per cent) to paying pensions.

Sector-wise revenue expenditures were Rs 1183 crore in Police Department, Rs 105 0 crore in general education and Rs 740 crore in power sector.

The total liability due to the State Government till March 31, 2017 was Rs 8807.83 crore including market loan of Rs 3779.49 crore.

Small savings provident fund and other liabilities amounted to Rs 3541.95 crore.

The total amount taken from the Central Government as loan or advance was Rs 367 crore.

There were many departments which could not utilise the full budgetary allocations.

PWD could not 26.66 per cent of the budgetary allocation, Education Department 18 per cent, Agriculture 49.30 pc, Community and Rural Development 30 per cent, General Economic Services and Planning 85.55 pc, Minor Irrigation 47.41 pc, Irrigation and Flood Control 24.75 per cent and Social Welfare Department could not utilise 35.34 per cent of the budgetary allocation.

Informing that the State Government could not utilise around Rs 1824 crore during the last fiscal year and Rs 1433 crore was passed as supplementary grant, the AG said that larger portion of the supplementary grant too could not be utilised.

He further remarked that the supplementary grant should not have been passed if the departments were not in a position to utilise their budgetary allocations fully.

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