TRANSPORT MINISTRY HOPES TO GET ₹81K CR IN VOTE ON ACCOUNT

NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the last six months of its tenure may present an interim budget for the coming financial year, transport ministry officials said. The ministry is expecting an allocation of about ₹81,000 crore.

An interim budget refers to the budget presented by a government going through a transition period, usually ahead of polls.

“This is going to be an interim budget and the finance ministry has not fully decided. This year we had asked for ₹1.25 lakh crore but they agreed for only around ₹81,150 crore. Being an election year, the government will go slow and they can’t afford to give us as much as the sector demands. They can present a vote-on-account where some interim budget will be given and revised after the new government comes. We are expecting a very modest budget,” a senior ministry official said requesting anonymity.

“Last financial year, we had asked the finance ministry for ₹1.1 lakh crore and we got ₹78,250 crore, including toll, road cess, gross budgetary support, receipts etc.,” said another transport ministry official who did not want to be named.

The Fifteenth Finance Commission held a policy review meeting with Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday. In a presentation made by the transport ministry secretary, a copy of which has been reviewed by HT, the ministry reviewed its policy initiatives and spending since 2014. In its plan, the ministry stated that fund allocation rose from ₹38,009 crore in 2014-15 to ₹140,626 crore till November 2018. Expenditure also rose from ₹32,682 crore to ₹78,899 crore in the same period.