CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, in a meeting held at the Chief Minister’s residence on Saturday, directed the officials to prepare a comprehensive plan for the financial situation for the next ten years. In this scheme, special attention should be given to economic and social development, environmental protection, use of modern technology and effective implementation of schemes.
CM Pushkar Singh Dhami stressed on preparing a roadmap for economic development to augment the state’s sources of income. He said that work should be done in a planned manner in important sectors like tourism, pilgrimage, energy, connectivity, industry, agriculture, rural development, education, health, skill development and social welfare. Long-term financial planning should be done to control unnecessary expenditure and fulfil Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s resolve of a developed India by 2047.
He emphasized the use of data analytics and research in policy formulation for better budget management and inclusion of suggestions from experts and general public in plan formulation. Emphasis was also laid on simplification of government processes and faster implementation of digital governance.
It was informed in the meeting that in the financial budget 2024-25, 85% revenue has been achieved against the target, while the revenue expenditure has reached 90.50%. The Chief Minister directed to launch an intensive drive to increase GST collection and check tax evasion in the state. He said the GST filing process should be made simple and transparent and AI and data analytics should be used more.
The meeting was informed that since the formation of the state, there has been an increase of more than 48 times in the collection of Trade Tax / VAT / GST, which has increased from 233 crore to 11,289 crore. Among the tax sources, GST and VAT account for 62%, excise 19%, transport 5%, stamps 8% and mining 5%. As many as 848 cases of ITC fraud and 165 fake firms have been identified in the state. As many as 51 fake GST registrations have been cancelled under the special drive.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary R. K. Sudhanshu, Principal Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretaries Shailesh Bagoli, Dilip Jawalkar, Vinay Shankar Pandey, Additional Director General of Police A. P. Anshuman, State Tax Commissioner Dr. Ahmed Iqbal, Vice Chairman and officials of the GST Department.