Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma presents Rs 1,570-crore deficit Budget

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SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday presented a Rs. 1, 570-crore deficit Budget for the year 2021-22 which is around 4.07 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

Presenting the Budget in the State Assembly, the Chief Minister said that the total receipts is estimated at Rs. 17, 509 crore, of which the revenue receipts are estimated at Rs. 15, 232 crore and capital receipts at Rs. 2, 277 crore. "Excluding borrowings of Rs, 2, 247 crore, the total receipts are estimated to be Rs. 15, 262 crore," said Sangma.

On the expenditure side, the estimated expenditure has been pegged at Rs. 17, 603 crore, of which the revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs. 13, 956 and capital expenditure at Rs. 3, 647 crore. He also said that excluding repayment of loans to the tune of Rs. 771 crore, the estimated total expenditure is Rs 16, 832 crore. Sangma also said that the interest payments for 2021-22 is estimated at Rs 1, 047 crore and pension payments at Rs 1, 303 crore.

In his Budget speech, the Chief Minister informed that Meghalaya's share in the divisible pool of taxes has increased from 0.645 per cent in the 14th Finance Commission to 0.767 per cent in the 15th Finance Commission for the period 2021-26.

He said that the share of Central taxes is estimated at Rs. 5,105 crore and the revenue gap grant is at Rs. 1,279 crore. "This is an increase of Rs. 1,600 crore over the actual devolution of this year," said Sangma, adding that the State's own revenues are estimated to be Rs. 2,579 crore in taxes and Rs. 694 crore in non-tax.

Sangma also informed that in addition to Central transfers, the State has been taking steps to increase its own tax and non-tax revenue. "For the current financial year, the own tax revenue of the State -- including GST compensation -- is expected to touch Rs 2,213 crore, a 11 per cent increase over the financial year 2019-20," said Sangma. He added that the Excise revenue for 2021-22 is expected to touch an all-time high of Rs 350 crore, an increase of 27 per cent over last year.

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