Presenting an abstract of the financial statement for 2011-12 in the West Bengal assembly, Finance minister Amit Mitra on Thursday said the State has set an ambitious plan of raising revenue receipt by 31.39 per cent.
Mr. Mitra said that the State government had on June 24 presented an annual financial statement for 2011-12, along with a vote-on-account for two months (i.e. for August and September) for the current financial year.
Stating that he was giving a statement of trends of expenditure and a statement on growth trajectories, the Finance Minister said that the state government was looking at garnering revenue resources.
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Without disclosing the mechanism to mop up resources, the Minister later told reporters in the lobby that the state government would place a Finance Bill in the House on August 29.
Mr. Mitra did not rule out taxation measures in the bill.
Stating that while the budget was projected as zero deficit one by the previous government, the new government has found a deficit of Rs 2,838 crore.
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The revenue shortfall in 2010-11 was Rs 17,166.03 crore, the largest in the country.
The new government, the finance minister said, would strive to bring down the revenue deficit to Rs 8,290.83 crore in 2011—12. “Though it is difficult, we will achieve it.”
Mr. Mitra said that there was an outgo of 92.95 per cent of the total revenue receipt towards salary, pension and interest payment during the Left Front budget.
“We will bring it down to 74.20 per cent in 2011-12,” he said.
Despite the hurdles, he said, there would be an increased allocation of 13 per cent in the salary bill, seven per cent in pension, besides provision for employment generation.
The Finance Minister said there would be 22.08 per cent increase in total plan expenditure from 28.62 per cent during 2011-12.
There would be a drop in non-plan expenditure from 11.58 per cent in 2010-11 to 4.18 per cent in current fiscal. This would help speed up development in the infrastructure sector and human capital.
Giving details of heads of accounts of different departments, Mr. Mitra said that allocation in school education has been raised 104.97 per cent, food and supply 62.73 per cent, health and family welfare 85.43 per cent, municipal affairs 179.21 per cent, PHE in 237.43 per cent, Transport 238.10 per cent.
For Paschimanchal Unnayan (western region development), it has been raised 163.39 per cent, while for planning and development purposes the allocation is 183.33 per cent higher.
He said that the government has laid stress on infrastructure development, human capital development, education, health and job creation.