Cabinet approves Rs 7,250 crore supplementary budget

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Nov 24:

The state cabinet on Saturday approved a supplementary budget to the tune of Rs 7,250 crore for the January-March quarter of FY 2013-14. It includes a plan component of Rs 3,500 crore while the rest Rs 3750 crore belongs to the Non-plan category.

The funds proposed under the current supplementary budget of Rs 7250 crore is around 47% more than the amount for the previous year (2012-13), which was Rs 3932 crore.

This demand for the supplementary budget will be placed in the Assembly for approval during its forthcoming winter session beginning from November 28, official sources said.

The supplementary budget has been prepared taking into consideration the requirement of various government departments, including funds to be utilised for relief and restoration work at areas hit by Cyclone Phailin and the subsequent floods. “Maximum amount was proposed for the Phailin and flood-hit districts under the current supplementary budget,” Finance minister Prasanna Acarya said.

Out of the funds sought for the natural calamity-affected areas in the supplementary budget, an expenditure of Rs 500 crore has been proposed for restoration of power through laying of underground cables, according to the minister. Also, Rs 200 crore has been proposed under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) in this supplementary budget, the minister added.

The state aims to get part of its budgeted amount from various sources: Rs 200 crore from World Bank and ADB, Rs 1,800 crore from National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF), Rs 270 crore from State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) and Rs 200 crore as its due share under various Centrally-Sponsored welfare schemes.

Besides, Rs 1,600 crore has been proposed to be transferred from Non-plan to Plan category under the supplementary budget to meet the expenditure requirements.