Panaji: In view of the elections and given the paucity of time, indications within the finance department suggest that a vote on account will be introduced instead of a full-fledged budget being placed for the 2022-23 fiscal. The finance department has already started working on a vote-on-account budget in anticipation of a new government being formed.
Plans are afoot to table the vote on account in the state legislative assembly in March.
“Whichever party forms the government, it will not have time to prepare and present a full budget. The plan, for now, is to present a vote on account for four to five months and a full budget in the monsoon assembly session,” said a senior government official.
With the term of the current government at its fag end, the administration has opted not to table a full-fledged budget and has left it to the new government that is sworn in after March 10 to outline its own financial roadmap.
A similar practice was followed in March 2012 when the state faced elections for the 40-member House. In 2017, within 10 days of being sworn in, then chief minister Manohar Parrikar had presented a full budget for the state.
Interestingly, over the past five years, the BJP-led administration has shown an inclination to pass a vote-on-account budget at the start of the financial year with a full-fledged budget being passed during the monsoon session.
For the financial year 2016-17, then chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar sought a vote on account. His successor, Parrikar, presented a vote-on-account budget in 2018 as well as in 2019.
While the financial estimates are being prepared, the projections for capital expenditure will be left up to the new government that is sworn in, said finance department officials. They also pointed out that 10-year state development loans taken from 2012 onwards, when mining came to a halt, will come up for repayment in the current financial year. The repayment will weigh down the state’s finances and budgetary allocations.
Plans are afoot to table the vote on account in the state legislative assembly in March.
“Whichever party forms the government, it will not have time to prepare and present a full budget. The plan, for now, is to present a vote on account for four to five months and a full budget in the monsoon assembly session,” said a senior government official.
With the term of the current government at its fag end, the administration has opted not to table a full-fledged budget and has left it to the new government that is sworn in after March 10 to outline its own financial roadmap.
A similar practice was followed in March 2012 when the state faced elections for the 40-member House. In 2017, within 10 days of being sworn in, then chief minister Manohar Parrikar had presented a full budget for the state.
Interestingly, over the past five years, the BJP-led administration has shown an inclination to pass a vote-on-account budget at the start of the financial year with a full-fledged budget being passed during the monsoon session.
For the financial year 2016-17, then chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar sought a vote on account. His successor, Parrikar, presented a vote-on-account budget in 2018 as well as in 2019.
While the financial estimates are being prepared, the projections for capital expenditure will be left up to the new government that is sworn in, said finance department officials. They also pointed out that 10-year state development loans taken from 2012 onwards, when mining came to a halt, will come up for repayment in the current financial year. The repayment will weigh down the state’s finances and budgetary allocations.
