Is Siddaramaiah heading for toughest ever budget session?

Umar Sharieef | NT

Bengaluru: With only about eight per cent left from revenue receipts for the implementation of the guaranteed schemes, the Congress government’s leader Siddaramaiah is pushing for a tough budget session that is scheduled for July 3.

It will be the first budget session for 2023-2024 after Congress assumed power on May 10. Former CM Basavaraj Bommai, in his previous budget, mentioned total receipts of Rs 3, 03, 910 crore, with the revenue receipt of Rs 2, 25, 910 crore.

At that rate, the present ruling government has spent nearly 92 per cent of it on various governance schemes, policies and subsidies.

Given the present situation, the State now stares at a grim picture in implementing the rest of the schemes. Several reports suggest that it would cost Rs 50,000 crore for the Congress government to implement all five guarantees.

A few economic experts opined that the State may need to increase taxes on property and excise to meet the requirement. Challenges on the government get even harder with the fact that it has to respond to opposition from the BJP, which has accused the Congress government that implementation of the guarantees would push the State into financial bankruptcy.

However, the BJP also reiterates that Congress would not be able to implement the guarantees and that the government will collapse by December this year. “To escape the problem, the State may need to opt for off-budget borrowings”, said an economist who didn’t wish to be named.

Adding fuel to the existing challenges, the State’s 2023- 24 liabilities have come as an additional burden. It stands at Rs 5, 64, 896 crore, which is 24.20 per cent of the State’s GSDP. The State’s liabilities cannot be more than 25 per cent of the GSDP.