2023-24 West Bengal budget: At Rs 5.86 lakh crore debt, govt set to up excise, revenue collection targets
Against the target of excise collection of Rs 16,500 crore, state has crossed Rs 13,500 crore as of January 31
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MoS Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya to table budget on Wednesday As Minister of State for Finance (independent charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya tables her second budget in the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday (February 15), she will be faced with the two-pronged challenge of keeping the state’s finances rolling amid a near freeze on funds by the Union government in the wake of allegations of corruption in the implementation of various schemes.
With an outstanding debt of Rs 5.86 lakh crore, the state government in its 2023-24 budget is likely to set targets to maximise its excise and revenue collection, officials said. In March 2022, the debt was Rs 5.28 lakh crore with a fiscal deficit of Rs 53,431.76 crore and a revenue deficit Rs 32,963.60 crore.
Officials in the Finance Department said the government will not only meet its target of excise collection for the financial year ending March 31 but will also surpass it.
According to the budget estimates for the fiscal ending March 31, the target for state excise collection was Rs 16,500 crore. The excise collections had already crossed Rs 13,500 crore as of January 31, it is learnt. The government is likely to stress on further increasing excise duty targets so that the state can increase revenue collection, said officials.
Also, the Finance Department is expecting more revenue collection from the transport and land departments. The state government had increased fines in the transport sector, thus increasing its revenue collection.
Besides, the government is also trying to increase collection through land revenues. It is planning to change the landholding laws to convert leased land to owned land. Under this, the government will give an option to the parties to whom they have leased lands on a long-term basis to purchase that land at the existing market rates.
A senior official of state finance department said, “Large chunks of land were given to people through lease agreements. When the state government gives land on lease to a party, the lease amount is much less than the market price of the land. Therefore, the state government by selling that same land at market rates will be able to get substantial funds for the exchequer which can be used for welfare and development projects.”
In the 2023-24 budget, Bhattacharya also faces the challenge to minimise the estimated loan amount.
During the financial year ending March 21, 2011, which was the last fiscal under the previous Left Front regime, the state’s accumulated debt was Rs 1.90 lakh crore.
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