Despite lockdown with bureaucracy, govt expects tabling of Budget to go smoothly

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government Finance and Planning department of official has said that almost all Budget-related meeting are over, allocations has been discussed and there would be no any hurdles despite the current crisis.

The Delhi government has also planned a 'green budget' as a part of its 2018-19 Budget.

The recent lockdown of the elected Aam Aadmi Party government and Delhi's bureaucracy has created a lot of hype about the upcoming Budget being struck down. But the government expects to table it on March 23-24.

"Tabling of the Budget is approaching and decisions can't be made without deeper engagement between officers and the elected government," say some officials.

A senior officer of the Finance department confirmed that all related meetings, like joint meeting of all concerned departments, finished a couple of days ago.

On Thursday, the Environment department put up a few final proposals on the new 'green budget' component, which is a multi-department project that the AAP government sees as critical to fight pollution.

An official of the Finance department claimed, "Now, proposals of concerned departments have been received and the allocation decided."

"The heads of departments concerned, including Environment, Power, Industries, Transport and Public Works Department, asked for department-wise action plans to be included in the budget," said the senior officer.

The main proposal that could lead to a reduction in air pollution and generate revenue for environment-friendly initiatives will be included in the 'green budget'.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia – who is also incharge of the Finance portfolio – had earlier instructed the various departments to consult various studies on the subject, including the 2016 comprehensive study on air pollution conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur.