New Delhi: Delhi govt's ambitious scheme to provide Rs 1,000 per month to women aged over 18 is likely to cost Rs 4,560 crore annually, the finance department has informed chief minister Atishi.
With Delhi govt's total subsidy bill, as per revised estimates, already inching towards Rs 11,000 crore, the finance department has expressed apprehensions that the proposed budgetary outlay for the scheme from the 2025-26 financial year may push Delhi into a "budgetary deficit".
Sources said the women and child development department recently submitted a draft note of the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana to the council of ministers. It estimated that nearly 38 lakh women in Delhi would be eligible for financial assistance under the scheme.
A revenue deficit may "lead to curtailment of financial powers and delegations conferred upon the administrator by the central govt", the additional chief secretary (finance) observed in his note.
The Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana was announced in the 2024-25 budget this March, and Rs 2,000 crore was set aside for the scheme. The scheme could not be implemented till now due to lack of a cabinet decision.
The finance department said Delhi would have to maintain strict fiscal discipline from the next financial year to fulfil its commitments. Unlike other states which may borrow from the market, Delhi govt has no powers to raise loans except from the National Small Saving Fund, which is an expensive option considering its long-standing revenue expenditure commitments and huge interest liability. Its fiscal expansion must be driven solely by growing its own tax and non-tax revenues, the department said.
The finance department added that the govt has already committed a grant to the Delhi Jal Board for meeting its revenue deficit, which may require revenue expenditure of Rs 2,500 crore in the next financial year. Coupled with the expenditure on Mahila Samman Nidhi Yojana, this will create a new revenue expenditure liability of approximately Rs 7,000 crore in FY 2025-26, with an annual incremental impact of 12%.
In its communication to the chief minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, the finance department said the projected increase in tax and non-tax revenues would not be adequate to cater to the normal revenue expenditure growth, besides the incremental liabilities on account of the new schemes. There is a serious possibility of a significant revenue and budget deficit and cash imbalances in FY 2025-26, it pointed out.
"This may lead to insufficient funding for essential expenditure and committed liabilities apart from adversely impacting capital expenditure," the finance department said. It added that while performing due diligence on cabinet proposals, the finance department was also required to separately assess all schemes that involve huge outlays and furnish its advice on whether it was financially sustainable in the probable resource scenario.
The department will examine the impact of the proposed outlay of the Mahila Samman Nidhi Yojana on the budget of the next financial year and submit its opinion on whether the scheme should be taken up for consideration only after a decision is made by the govt in this regard, it said.
In her note marked to ACS (finance), chief minister Atishi said it would not be appropriate to take a decision on the budget estimates for the 2025-26 at this juncture, and it was govt's prerogative to decide on the matter at the right time.
"As far as the implementation of the scheme is concerned, the department has projected three months as an implementation time frame. However, schemes may be implemented much faster or much slower than anticipated at the time of their conception. Moreover, there are still four months remaining in the current financial year, so even at the projected speed, the scheme can be implemented in the current financial year," Atishi said in her note.
"Therefore, it is too early a juncture for the finance department to decide whether the MMMSY shall be implemented in FY 2024-25 or not," the CM added.
A source in the elected dispensation added that there was already a provision for Rs 2,000 crore for the in the budget for this year. "Since only four months are left in the current financial year, only Rs 1,500 crore is likely to be utilised," the source said.
"Also, revenue collection is slightly higher than projected in the current financial year. This is why the revised estimate passed in the assembly yesterday is Rs 1,700 crore higher than the budget estimate passed in March 2024. There is no question of a revenue deficit," the source added.