The Hindu Business Line : Supplementary demand for grants placed in LS

THE first batch of supplementary demands for grants for the current fiscal (2005-06), entailing a net cash outgo of Rs 6,818.56 crore, has been placed in the Lok Sabha today by the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram.

These supplementary demands include 42 grants for a gross additional expenditure of Rs 14,661.36 crore.

Of this, the proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate Rs 6,818.56 crore and gross additional expenditure matched by savings of the ministries/departments or by enhanced receipts/recoveries account for Rs 7,842.28 crore.

Of the Rs 6,818.56 crore fresh expenditure sought, a major chunk of Plan expenditure relates to loans and advances to State Governments under Additional Central Assistance for externally aided projects for expenditure on ongoing projects amounting to Rs 3,376 crore.

This is followed by another Plan expenditure of Rs 1,846.48 crore for transfers to States and Union Territory governments for grants-in-aid to the government of Jammu & Kashmir under special Central assistance and one-time additional Central assistance for other projects (Rs 632.48 crore) and transfers to State Governments under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme and other water resources programme (Rs 672 crore) and for Accelerated Power Development Programme (Rs 542 crore).

Under non-Plan expenditure, a sum of Rs 300 crore is sought to be spent for transfers to Universal Service Obligation and another Rs 616.67 crore by way of compensation to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd for rural telephony.

Out of the Rs 7,842.48 crore additional expenditure to be matched by savings or by enhanced recoveries/receipts, the major component amounting to Rs 57,862.85 crore is for liquidation of audited balances outstanding in the oil pool account through the issue of special securities. Another major expenditure under this head involving no fresh expenditure outgo but to be obtained from saving or by enhanced recoveries/receipts is for expenditure amounting to Rs 1,100 crore on rural electrification scheme, viz, Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidutikaran Yojana.

The Minister also introduced the demands for 97 excess grants and five appropriations relating to 2002-03, amounting to a total of Rs 1,864.47crore incurred in that year.

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