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Budget 2022-2023: Economy hit by Covid, departments told to explore PPP model
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It has been reported that With the Covid pandemic playing havoc with the state’s economy, the Haryana Government has asked its departments to explore the possibilities of public-private partnership (PPP) in development projects in the run-up to the 2022-23 Budget.
In the wake of Covid, the government is functioning under stress as the state’s economy faced a setback on account of lockdown-induced stagnation. Finance Department
Initiating the process for the finalisation of the Budget Estimates for the financial year 2022-23, the Finance Department underlined “the unprecedented crisis on account of Covid pandemic.”
Economic Crisis
“In the wake of the Covid pandemic and its far-reaching effects, the state government is functioning under stress as the state’s economy faced a setback on account of lockdown-induced stagnation,” the Finance Department said.
A direct fallout of the economic crisis triggered off by the Covid pandemic, sources said, had been that the expenditure of a number of departments had increased during 2021-22. “At the same time, development activities have been deferred for the next year (2022-23),” a senior officer said.
Since the resources at the disposal of the state government may not be adequate to finance development activities, the private sector had to be roped in for execution of the projects.
“The possibilities of the new projects under PPP may be explored to invite private entrepreneurship and capital into areas being regulated by the departments,” the Finance Department said.
Finance Portfolio
Besides the private sector, the departments had been advised to formulate schemes by augmenting resources from public sector undertakings, including the National Bank Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
The Finance Department said the scheme-wise proposals for 2022-23 should be “realistic” and formulated on the basis of the actual expenditure of the previous years.
What’s in store
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who also holds the finance portfolio, had presented a record Budget of Rs 1.55 lakh crore for the year 2021-22. With Covid throwing the state’s finances haywire, it would interesting to see if Khattar surpasses last year’s Budget outlay.
(Economy India)