Agartala: The budget proposals tabled in Tripura state assembly with a total outlay of Rs 27,654.44 crore might have given the BJP-led ruling party another scope to boast of its achievement for nearly doubling the budget size in the last six years, but some key questions remained unanswered.
All said only good about the budget, including the Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, and highlighted how 13 new schemes proposed in the document would shape the state’s future in the next one year.
The Chief Minister terms the budget an “inclusive and future oriented” document. Some schemes that include setting up of an Artificial Intelligence Centre, free scooters for meritorious girls and so on and so forth drew wide appreciation from people.
Experts in the field of economics and senior journalists who had been studying Tripura budget for a long time, however, had a different take on the budget. On being contacted veteran journalist Sekhar Datta said, “The budget failed to strike a chord with the people because there is nothing unique in it. It is a pedestrian budget that largely gives a detailed balance sheet of the financial status of the government. So far I understand, implementation of the 13 new schemes, which had been announced during the budget speech of the Finance Minister, would be a herculean task for the government.”
Even as the state government did not propose any new taxes in the budget, it is very confident to manage the fiscal deficit, which is around 611 crore in the budget. Sources in the Finance Department said they are quite optimistic of a rise in GST collection of the state. “There are some sources which, if explored, can bring more revenue to the government exchequer. All those sources would be exploited to ensure that the fiscal deficit could be managed at the end of the year,” a senior officer of the Finance department told EastMojo.
However, no specific example of those sources rather than the GST is mentioned. As per the budget estimates, the total revenue receipt of the state from own taxes is anticipated to be Rs 3,360, which was Rs 3,000 last year.
The biggest question that the budget failed to answer is unemployment. The word “unemployment” has never been used for a single time. However, a scheme named after the Chief Minister has been launched for skill development with a total outlay of Rs 50 crore.
The scheme broadly says the youth will be trained under different trades especially in artificial intelligence and drone technology under this scheme. Reputed institutions will be roped in for formulating the training courses that will help increase employment opportunities.
The highest allocation of funds had been kept for the education sector that include school, colleges, university, Social Welfare and Sports and Youth Affairs. The total funds earmarked for the purpose is Rs 4,938.76 crore. Other key sectors that had received huge allocations are rural development (Rs 3418 crore), PWD (Rs 2612 crore), home (Rs 2423 crore) and health (Rs 1755 crore). Even being the backbone of the state’s economy, agriculture and allied services, which is primary occupation in the villages, is found to be in third last in the list with an allocation of Rs 1436 crore. Tribal Welfare even received less than which is Rs 1,080 crore.
The expenditure patterns reveal more about the budget exposing the real problem. A total of 49.04 percent of the total budget is spent for payment of salaries, pension and other retirement benefits, interest payment and loan repayment.
The biggest share of the budget is spent on salaries of the employees, which is around 28.39 percent of the total outlay amounting to Rs 7852.23 crore. A total of Rs 3295.81 crore is earmarked for pension and retirement benefits, which is 11.92 percent of the total budget. Payments of interest (Rs 1501.73 crore) coupled with loan repayment (Rs 918.25 crore) constitute 8.75 percent of the total budget.
According to Sekhar Datta, all these expenses could be termed ”unproductive” in nature. “The government has promised that they will spend more than 16 percent of the total budget on the capital expenditure, which is considered as an indicator of the development works to be done in the fiscal. I have strong doubts on whether it would be possible or not given the burden of interest payment and loan on the state government,” Datta explained.
Datta, on the other hand, also reminded that states have very little say on the finances given the constitutional devolution of power. “States in the country, according to our constitution, have very little power over finances. Financial power essentially rests with the center. Given this position, nothing better was expected,” he added.
Justifying his position, Datta said all the estimates that had been shown in the budget are largely anticipated figures based on the revised estimates of previous financial year. “These are all anticipated figures. Whether these figures will become reality could only be known at the end of this financial year when the revised estimates would be tabled in assembly,” he added.
Datta also laid emphasis on the absence of any measures to mitigate the unemployment crisis of the state. “The unemployment is a big challenge, which needs to be tackled by the state government. The budget does not speak anything concrete on the state government’s vision to tackle the problem,” he pointed out.
Sunk Cost:
Economics scholar Kiran Bhomik, who is pursuing his PhD in Tripura University, warned Tripura government of the increasing “Sunk Cost”. According to Bhowmik, the term is used for costs that are incurred and couldn’t be recovered.
Bhowmik an expert in the agricultural economics said, “The decision to implement ‘Mukhyamantri Integrated Crop Management Programme (MICMP) with an outlay of Rs 10 crore for Aman paddy to cover 1,16,400 ha area is likely to be implemented with proper direction with the help of government officials but the lack of government staffs and officers are the main constraints in the matter of implementation of this scheme.”
Referring to another scheme launched during the budget, he said, “The proposed plan in the budget for a new app namely ‘Kisan Sahayata Mobile App’ is a good decision in the era of technology but a technological device couldn’t function without necessary knowledge on that technology. The farmers in Tripura need to be habituated with new technology for the advancement of farmers’ education. Another proposed plan in the budget for a modern Artificial Insemination Training Centre and five veterinary dispensaries also fall in the same line. Only building infrastructure without investing in the requires skilled manpower would certainly increase the burden of sunk cost on the government.”
According to him, infrastructural facilities are already here in Tripura but manpower to handle the things in the proper way is less. Bhowmik also laid stress on decreasing political interference for selection of beneficiaries in the government funded schemes.
“The idea of ‘Mukhyamantri Matsya Bikash Yojana (MMBY)’ with an allocation of Rs 12 crore in the budget for 2023-24 is good and innovative but the beneficiary selection process has to be decided without any political interference. Our practical experience shows that the project money interestingly goes to people who had never been associated with farming. This malpractice leads to misuse of welfare funds,” Bhowmik added.
Tribal Areas:
The welfare of tribal people is a commitment that all political parties make but the budget provides insights of what the party in power really wants to do for the tribal areas.
As per the budgetary allocations, the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) would receive a little over Rs 672 crore, which is almost close to the funds allocated to the autonomous body in the last financial year. The total funds allocated for the tribal welfare department of the state stand at Rs 1,080.64 crore, which is 3.91 percent of the total budget.
However, Finance Department officials argued that all the departments have a share of funds kept for the tribal-dominated areas and what had been shown in the tribal welfare sector is solely for the development of the indigenous people.
Briefing the media persons on the budgetary discrimination and economic deprivation meted out to the TTAADC, Leader of the Opposition Animesh Debbarma said, “Only 2.07 percent of the whole budget is allocated for the TTAADC areas. All of you must be aware that we are not even getting the funds for recurring expenditures like payment of salaries to our employees. This situation shows how the government is ignorant to the aspirations of people living in the TTAADC. Our administration is always working under fund constraints and we have hardly left with any funds to carry out development works.”
Debbarma said he would raise these issues during the budget discussions.
It is also worthy to be mentioned here that Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on Friday tabled the budgetary proposals worth Rs 27,645.40 crore for the current fiscal up by 9.87 percent from the revised estimates of the last financial year.
Dear Reader,
Every day, our team at EastMojo travels through rain, rough roads, and remote hills to bring you stories that matter – stories from your town, your people, your Northeast.
We do this because we believe in truthful, independent journalism. No big corporate backing, no government pressure – just honest reporting by local journalists who live and breathe the same air you do.
But to keep doing this work, we need you. Your small contribution helps us pay our reporters fairly, reach places others ignore, and keep asking the tough questions.
If you believe the Northeast deserves its own fearless voice, stand with us.
Support independent journalism. Be a Member.
Thank you,
Karma Paljor
Editor-in-Chief, eastmojo.com
According to the budgetary proposals, the total receipts of the state including capital and revenue account stand at Rs 27,043.1 crore while the total expenditure for the whole year is estimated to be Rs 27,654.40 crore. “The total deficit for the budget estimates stands at Rs 611.3 crore,” said the Finance minister.
As much as Rs 5,358.7 crore would be spent as capital expenditure in different sectors.
In March 2022, former Finance Minister Jishnu Dev Varma tabled his last budget worth over Rs 26,000 crore. However, the revised estimates showed that only Rs 25,169 crore was realised of that. The projected growth of the GSDP has been estimated to be above 8 percent.
Also Read | After 7 years, Bangladeshi man reunites with family via Facebook