The State government is likely to slash allocations under only select budget heads by 15-30% this time, unlike the previous budget, when a flat cut of nearly 30% was imposed across the board.
Senior officials said the revenue position at present did not merit a total cut. The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council is likely to announce more concessions, which will ensure that the State government has some manoeuvring room.
“We are likely to impose a cut on select budget heads since the revenue situation does not look alarming for now,” a senior official said.
The GST Council is likely to announce concessions in rates in the housing/construction sectors, giving relief to the taxpayers and citizens before the elections. “The final decision on which budget heads to cut will be taken in February,” the official said.
₹20,000 crore allocation
State Minister of Finance, Planning and Forests Sudhir Mungantiwar had said earlier that the interim budget for 2019-20 will allocate about ₹20,000 crore on the arrears to be paid under the Seventh Pay Commission and a loan waiver given to lakhs of farmers.
He had confirmed that the transition budget will include a vote-on-account highlighting the achievements of the government.
The interim budget
The fifth budget of the Devendra Fadnavis government will also seek the legislature’s nod for expenditure to be incurred during part of the fiscal year or minimum of four months.
The interim budget will typically retain the income and expenditure sides, along with the usual heads, to only present the government’s vision for the next five years. Once the four-month period is over, revised estimates will be presented for a full year by the new government.
