Govt tables ₹41,243-crore supplementary budget; highest funds to Jal Jivan Mission

Of the ₹41,243 crore tabled, ₹25,611 crore is allocated for scheme expenditure or development funds, ₹13,091 crore is allocated for committed expenditures, and ₹2,541 crore is allocated for centrally sponsored schemes

Mumbai: The Shinde-Fadnavis government tabled a supplementary budget of ₹41,243 crore on the first day of the monsoon session of the state legislature. The highest fund – ₹5,856 crore – was allocated towards Jal Jivan Mission, which aims to provide tap water connections in the rural areas of the state.

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Of the ₹41,243 crore tabled, ₹25,611 crore is allocated for scheme expenditure or development funds, ₹13,091 crore is allocated for committed expenditures, and ₹2,541 crore is allocated for centrally sponsored schemes.

“The supplementary demands are second highest in the recent past after the ruling government tabled a whopping ₹52,328 crore supplementary in December last year. The budget came down due to the failure to make an outlay for the announcement of the cash benefit to farmers made in the budget or the allocation for the salary of the teachers,” said an official from the finance department.

Apart from the Jal Jivan Mission, a few notable demands, which are included in the supplementary budget, are ₹4000 crore for Namo Kisan Yojana, the annual cash benefit of ₹6,000 to more than 9 million farmers, ₹3,563 crore for the payment of dues of the teachers and non-teachers as per the seventh pay commission recommendations among others.

Additionally, the supplementary budget has an outlay of ₹2,500 crore for the essential works in the rural and urban areas recommended by the elected representatives. Most funds are expected to be allocated to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs, who recently defected to join the state government.

Rupesh Keer of Samarthan, an organisation that studies the state’s budget said, “It is an indication of the fiscal indiscipline, as the percentage of the supplementary to the main budget is around 7%. Despite this, there is no provision for capital expenditure. It has made whopping allocation for the salary dues of teachers but has turned a blind eye towards the repairs of the dilapidated schools and classrooms.”