Our Correspondent
Kohima | February 21
The expenditure on salaries and wages of State Government employees in Nagaland increased by 51.03% (from Rs 3274.16 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 4944.95 crore in 2018-19) at a compound annual growth rate of 10.86%.
The 18.99% increase over the previous year was mainly due to revision of salaries as per the 7th Pay Commission, release of dearness allowances and incremental benefits.
This was stated in State Finances Audit Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for the year ending March 31, 2019, which was tabled in the just concluded Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) session.
It was observed that 43.23% of the Revenue Receipts and 45.28% of Revenue Expenditure went towards disbursement of salary and wages during the year 2018-19.
The total number of government employees in Nagaland stood at 1,23,686 during 2018-19 which comprised of 6.25% of the total population of the State.
Pension payment increased by 22.84%
The expenditure on pension has meanwhile increased by Rs. 288.69 crore (22.84%) from Rs 1264. 10 crore in 2017-18 to Rs. 1552.79 crore (including Rs. 58.17 crore on new pension scheme) in 2018-19 due to revision of pension on implementation of the 7th Pay Commission.
Revenue receipts increased by 3.80%
The Revenue Receipts of the state also increased by Rs. 418.20 crore (3.80%) from Rs. 11019 crore in 2017-18 to Rs.11437.41 crore in 2018-19 at an annual growth rate of 3.80%.
The report stated that this increase was due to increase in Tax Revenue (Rs. 208.15 crore) and State’s Share of Union Taxes and Duties ( Rs, 439.28 crore) offset by decrease in Non-Tax Revenue (Rs. 133.29 crore) and GIA (Rs. 95.94 crore).
The report added that the Capital Receipts of the state decreased by Rs. 287.19 crore (23.23%) from Rs. 1236.11 crore in 2017-18 to Rs. 948.92 crore in 2018-19. The decrease was primarily due to less market borrowing.
It was also noted that the total financial assistance to local bodies and other institutions decreased by Rs. 161.34 crore (49.13%) from Rs. 328.40 crore in 2017-18 to Rs. 167.06 crore in 2018-19 mainly due to decrease in assistance to rural local bodies (Rs. 118.90 crore) and non release of assistance under the Indira Awas Yojana, various sports associations and special development programmes.
