Use funds in 40 days, Revanth tells officials

Hyderabad:With less than 40 days left for the end of financial year 2024-25, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has directed the finance department to expedite the release and utilisation of funds to meet budgetary targets.

He reviewed utilisation money allocated to various departments in last year’s Budget, during a meeting on Thursday along with commercial taxes collections, highlighting that only 70 per cent of the allocated funds had been utilized so far. He urged departments to raise this figure to at least 85 per cent in the remaining period.

Revanth Reddy criticised the BRS government’s practice of inflating revenue projections, while simultaneously increasing expenditure estimates. This led to a situation where departments struggled to meet financial commitments, resulting in spillover liabilities. The Congress-led government aims to implement a more realistic budgeting approach to ensure better financial stability and effective fund utilisation, he said.

Official sources said that Reddy expressed disappointment with certain departments for their lower-than-expected spending, despite sufficient funds being made available. While he was satisfied with commercial tax collections, standing at `26,725 crore out of the budgeted `33,449 crore (80 per cent), he stressed the need for improvement.

The Chief Minister underscored the importance of prudent financial management in the final stretch. He urged officials to ensure that funds are allocated effectively and focused on departments that had utilised less than 50 per cent of their budgets.

Revanth Reddy advised officials to channel funds into development projects that would directly benefit the public. He cited a Comptroller and Auditor General April-January report, which revealed that the government expenditure stood at `1,78,947 crore out of the estimated `2,54,431 crore, amounting to 70 per cent of the Budget.

During the BRS regime, there was a significant gap between Budget estimates and actual spending. The BRS government, which presented 10 budgets from 2014 to 2023, spent an average of 82 per cent of its budgeted funds. A breakdown of spending in previous years showed fluctuations, with the lowest utilisation at 51 per cent in 2023-24 up to November, when the Congress took over.

In contrast, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala exceeded their budgetary estimates, achieving expenditure levels between 100 per cent and 116 per cent.

Telangana lagged behind due to what officials describe as ‘unrealistic budgeting’ during the BRS era. The gap between budget estimates and actual expenditure in Telangana averaged 20 per cent, whereas other states had a discrepancy of only five per cent.