'Expenses up 80% this Apr, May compared to last yr, taxes down'

New Delhi: As the second wave of the Covid pandemic enveloped the Capital in April and May, the Delhi government's expenditure in the first two months of this fiscal year increased by around 80 per cent compared to the same two months last year, the city's Finance Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said.

In a statement issued by the Delhi government, it said that the city's tax collections had declined and expenditures — mostly on Covid relief — had gone up.

The statement added that as a result, the Delhi government had issued an order on expenditure management and rationalisation of expenditure to keep the expenditure within the resources, in times of COVID-19 pandemic.

The revenue receipts of Delhi have been Rs 5,273.26 crore during the first two months of the financial year 2021-22, while its expenditure has reached Rs 8,511.09 crore. Delhi has incurred Rs 3,237.83 crore more than its receipts which were met from last year's savings, Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia said.

He said the expenditure of the Delhi government has increased around 80 per cent during the first two months of the financial year 2021-22 as compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year, due to COVID-19.

Previously, the expenditure in the first two months was Rs 4,705.14 crore in (2019-20) and Rs 4,965.58 crore in 2020-21.

However, due to the unprecedented Covid surge, the expenditure during the first two months has jumped to Rs 8,511.09 crore in 2021-22, according to a government statement.

The tax collection has declined due to the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, while the expenditure has increased in comparison with the previous years for implementation of various relief and other measures to check the spread of COVID-19, Sisodia said.