Dimapur, February 23: Nearly half of the total expenditure of the Government of Nagaland is spent on disbursement of salaries and wages to 1,23,686 Government employees (as on 2018-19). State Government employees account for 6.25% of the total population of Nagaland.
The Nagaland State Finances Audit Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ended 31 March 2019 showed that 43.23% of the State’s Revenue Receipts and 45.28% of Revenue Expenditure went towards disbursement of salary and wages during the year 2018-19.
As per the report, total expenditure during 2018-19 (Rs 12520.81 crore) increased by 9.20% over the previous year, and comprised of Revenue Expenditure of Rs 10919.98 crore (87.22%), Capital Expenditure Rs 1595.56 crore (12.74%) and Loans and Advances Rs 5.27 crore (0.04%).
During 2018-19, revenue expenditure, which is in the nature of current consumption, accounted for around 87.22% of the State’s aggregate expenditure, leaving only 12.78% for investment in infrastructure and asset creation. General Services expenditure increased by 18.56% from Rs 4586.51 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 5437.61 crore in 2018-19, Social Services expenditure increased by 14.59% and Economic Services expenditure decreased by Rs 245.99 crore (6.28%).
The report said Non-Development revenue expenditure increased from 75% of revenue expenditure in 2017-18 to 79% during 2018-19. “It ranged between 75 to 85 per cent during the last five years, which indicates that the expenditure of the State was not managed efficiently,” it said.
The expenditure of the State Government on Revenue Account mainly consisted of interest payments, expenditure on salaries and wages and pensions.
According to the report, expenditure on salaries and wages increased by 51.03% from Rs 3274.16 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 4944.95 crore in 2018-19 at a compound annual growth rate of 10.86%. 18.99% increase over the previous year was mainly due to revision of salaries as per 7th Pay Commission, release of dearness allowances and incremental benefits, it said.
Pension
The expenditure on pension increased by Rs 288.69 crore (22.84%) from Rs 1264.10 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1552.79 crore (including Rs 58.17 crore on New Pension System) in 2018-19 mainly due to revision of pension on implementation of 7th Pay Commission, the report said.
Interest Payments
The CAG Report said interest payment increased by 38.97% from Rs 555.34 crore in 2014 -15 to
Rs 771.74 crore in 2018-19 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.57%. The interest payment increased by Rs 93.99 crore (13.87%) during 2018-19 over the previous year due to increase in interest payment on Internal Debt (Rs 56.68 crore) and Small Savings, Provident Fund, etc. (Rs 39.03 crore) offset by decrease in interest payment on Loans and Advances from Central Government (Rs 1.72 crore).
Capital Expenditure
Capital Expenditure is the part of Government spending that goes into creation of assets. Capital expenditure assumes importance as it has a lasting impact on the economic and social growth of the State. If spent wisely and efficiently, capital expenditure ensures a productive economy, it said.
As per the report, capital expenditure (Rs 1,595.56 crore) during 2018-19 increased by Rs 320.71 crore over the previous year (Rs 1274.85 crore) but was Rs 265.19 crore (14.25%) less than the Budget Estimate (Rs 1860.75 crore).
As compared to the total expenditure, the capital outlay showed a fluctuating trend (11.06 to 13.15%) over the period 2014-15 to 2018-19.
(Page News Service)
