Deficit budget for Nagaland govt, no new taxes levied for 2019-20

The Nagaland government on Monday presented Rs 1,611.98-crore deficit budget for 2019-20, which Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio termed as "people-friendly" with no new taxes being levied. Rio said in his budget speech that various measures have been taken to improve government revenue collections, such as increasing the registration of dealers under GST, implementing online payment of power bills and better monitoring of collections in the transport sector.

The CM said steps are also being considered to improve the personal information management system to capture details of every employee of the state government. "These measures are expected to bring substantial financial savings for the state," he said.

Elaborating on the allocation made for developmental activities for 2019-20, Rio said the agri and allied sectors has been provided with an amount of Rs 29.50 crore for putting in place key infrastructure. Rio, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the total gross receipts are estimated at Rs 17,606.48 crore, while the gross expenditure is projected at Rs 18,012.73 crore.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader T R Zeliang of the Naga People's Front (NPF) dubbed the budget as an "entertainment budget", which has funds only for festivals, sports and tours.