Aizawl, Mar 1: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who also holds Finance portfolio, today presented the budget estimate for the fiscal 2021-22, entailing a total expenditure of 11,148.89 crore and total receipts of Rs 11,148.89 crore.
The budget, which is Rs 433.89 crore higher than Budget estimates of 2020-21, includes no new proposals for levy of additional taxes or enhancement of tax rates.
Zoramthanga also informed the House that there was a Rs 1,185 crore shortfall from the share of central taxes during 2020-21 due to the sharp decrease in collection of taxes by the central government caused by COVID-19 pandemic. He said that the percentage of revenue expenditure estimates for 2021-22 fiscal is 82.67 as against the estimated capital expenditure of 17.33 per cent.
The State is compelled to reduce its non-obligatory revenue expenditures, various activities which were undertaken in pre-COVID period except priority items will not be possible to be taken up in 2021-22, he said.
The economic and social impact of the virus is devastating whereas untied grants to be received from central government reduces, hence economic recovery from the crisis is likely to be slow and uneven.
This is the third full budget of the Mizo National Front (MNF) government after it came to power in December 2018.
He said the state government laid emphasis on the implementation of the state’s flagship programme Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP) with an allocation of Rs 400 crore, which Rs 113 crore lesser than last year’s allocation.
Zoramthanga also proposed to put aside a sum of Rs 5.00 crore for Rehabilitation of former cadres of Mizo National Front, who came overground following the historic Mizo Accord of June 30, 1986.
Rs 60 crore was allocated for MLA Local Area Development Fund for the new fiscal.
The Chief Minister also presented the Supplementary Demands for Grant for the current fiscal amounting to Rs 3,058.08 crore.
Zoramthanga said that the state government would make concerted efforts to reduce the revenue expenditure in the years to come as also increase the state's own tax revenue and non-tax revenue by improvement of efficiency in collection of taxes and non-tax revenues, without increasing the taxable items or enhancing rates of taxes.