Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday tabled a ₹1,592 crore deficit Budget for the 2023-24 fiscal, proposing no new tax, and asserted that efforts will be made to make the state a 'billion-dollar' economy.
The Chief Minister said the estimated GSDP for the FY 2023-2024 is pegged at ₹46,600 crore with an expected growth rate of 11.5%.
The fiscal deficit is 3.42% of the State's GSDP — ₹41,779 crore for the current financial year.
Presenting the Budget in the Assembly, Mr. Sangma said the estimated receipt is about ₹21,781 crore of which revenue is likely to be ₹19,414 crore excluding the borrowings of ₹2,339 crore.
He said the total expenditure is expected to be ₹22,022 crore, an increase of over ₹3,140 crore excluding loan repayment of ₹988 crore.
The estimated expenditure included Rs 1,169 crore in repayment of interests and ₹1,794 crore in pension payments.
“I am therefore presenting a budget of 2023-24 with a fiscal deficit of ₹1,592 crore, which is around 3.42% of the GSDP,” Mr. Sangma said.
Stating that the government's expenditure has more than doubled from ₹9,528 crore in 2017-18 to ₹20,729 in 2022-23, the Chief Minister said the cumulative funding from externally aided projects increased from ₹2,300 crore in 2018 to over ₹10,600 crore in 2023.
Mr. Sangma asserted that his government will bring in policies and programs to double the GSDP to ₹80,000 crore in the next five years and efforts will be made Meghalaya a 'billion-dollar' economy.
He also informed the House that the government strives to double the income of approximately six lakh farmers by focusing on horticulture, livestock, fisheries and sericulture.
The Chief Minister also informed the House that the Union Finance Ministry has enhanced the size of the scheme for special assistance to states for capital investment to spur investment in infrastructure.
“We have already drawn our share of ₹742 crore and invested in critical capital projects… with an extra allocation of ₹307 crore the total allocation this FY is ₹1,049 crore,” he said, adding that for the upcoming FY the state is expected to receive ₹1,003 crore.
The Chief Minister also said that the State's own tax has also increased during the current FY to ₹2,636 crore and for the upcoming FY, the estimated own tax is about ₹3,205 crore of which ₹1,785 crore is GST and ₹792 crore as tax on sales and trades and ₹413 as excise.
