Pre-Budget meetings put on hold due to municipal polls

With the state witnessing the municipal election season, budget preparatory meetings have been postponed until the election results are announced on February 13. All ministers have instructed their respective secretaries to prepare detailed reports on fund allocations and expenditure incurred under each scheme till the end of January.

Officials said Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has directed the Finance Department to hold pre-Budget meetings only after the elections. Ministers have been appointed as in-charges of all election-bound municipalities and entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring a Congress victory in the crucial polls.

In the meantime, the Finance Department has been holding internal meetings with secretaries, instructing them to furnish details of expenditure incurred on schemes and development works. Based on these reports, the Finance Minister is expected to review the performance of each department along with the ministers concerned in the second week of February.

Several departments are in the process of collecting scheme implementation details from district authorities and compiling the data. Once finalised, department secretaries will forward the reports to Finance Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania.

Sources said revenue-generating departments are also preparing separate reports and will soon hold review meetings to assess the achievement of targets.