The Hindu : Unruly scenes, walkout mar vote-on-account in W.Bengal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 16, 2004

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National

Unruly scenes, walkout mar vote-on-account in W.Bengal

Trinamool Congress MLAs destroying and scattering papers after a vote-on-account was presented in the West Bengal Assembly in Kolkata on Monday. — Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

KOLKATA, MARCH 15. Amid unruly scenes and walkout by the main Opposition, Trinamool Congress (TC), the West Bengal Finance Minister, Ashim Dasgupta, today presented the vote-on-account in the Assembly without any new tax but proposed to increase the tax revenue to Rs. 10,449 crores in the next year.

The increase would be effected from the current level of Rs. 8,825 crores through the State's own resource mobilisation.

The Trinamool Congress members tore the budget papers, shouted slogans criticising the Left Front Government's handling of the economy and staged a walkout.

Seeking the vote-on account for the first four months beginning April 1, 2004, Mr. Dasgupta said steps would be taken to limit the growth of expenditure on salaries to five per cent and growth of expenditure on pension to 10 per cent and further reduce the expenditure on subsidy from the current year's level to limit the overall growth in non-Plan revenue expenditure to 4.3 per cent.

Amid repeated disruption by TC members, the Finance Minister said because of the increase in resource mobilisation and restraint on non-Plan expenditure, the budgetary deficit in the next year would be reduced to Rs. 85 crores.

He said in the midst of a financial crisis, all efforts had been made to increase Plan expenditure for enhancing employment generation and mitigate the financial crisis by reducing in phases the budgetary deficit.

The Finance Minister, who did not introduce any new tax or alter the existing rates in keeping with the election code of conduct, said the main emphasis was on the State's own resource mobilisation based on an improved method of collection in case of tax and non-tax revenue, further reduction of subsidy by increasing efficiency and keeping the growth in non-Plan expenditure within limits.

Maintaining that steps had been taken in the current year to limit non-Plan expenditure and reduce unnecessary expenditure, he said that it was possible to limit growth of expenditure on salaries to 5.4 per cent and that on pension to 10 per cent in the current year. — PTI

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