By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 22 Mar: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, held a meeting at his official residence here on Saturday where he directed officials to draft a comprehensive 10–year perspective financial plan for the state. He added that this long-term blueprint should focus on economic and social development, environmental conservation, and on an efficient execution of schemes through modern technology. He emphasised the need to identify sustainable ways to enhance the state‘s income resources over the next decade.
Dhami also stressed on the importance of strategic planning in key sectors such as tourism, pilgrimage, energy, connectivity, industry, agriculture, rural development, education, health, skill development, and social welfare. Stressing upon the need to manage resources prudently, the CM called for stricter control over unnecessary expenses. He urged collective efforts to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a developed India by 2047, suggesting a detailed roadmap for Uttarakhand’s finances until that year.
The Chief Minister also advocated the use of data analytics and research in policymaking to ensure efficient budget management. He emphasised on involving experts and the general public in planning processes. Moving towards digital governance, Dhami called for simplifying government procedures and accelerating their implementation. He further instructed measures to boost tax and non-tax revenue, industrial investment, digital tax collection, and public-private partnerships for enhanced revenue generation.
During the meeting, it was shared that the state had achieved 85 percent of its targeted revenue in the 2024-25 financial budget, with revenue expenditure standing at 90.50 per cent. Dhami instructed officials to intensify efforts to increase GST collections and prevent tax evasion through special drives and raids. He stressed the importance of utilising AI and data analytics but at the same time also ensuring a simple and transparent GST filing process.
Singnificantly, it was pointed out in the meeting that Since the state‘s formation, trade tax, VAT, and GST collections have grown over 48 times, from Rs 233 crore to Rs 11,289 crore. The state‘s tax sources now comprise GST and VAT (62 per cent share), excise (19 share), transport (5 per cent share), stamp duty (8 per cent share), and mining (5 per cent). A special campaign to identify fraudulent GST registrations revealed 51 non-existent registrations, which were subsequently cancelled.
The meeting was attended amongst others by senior officials, including Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, R Meenakshi Sundaram, Shailesh Bagoli, Dilip Jawalkar, Vinay Shankar Pandey, ADG police AP Anshuman, State Tax Commissioner Ahmed Iqbal, Vice-Chairman MDDA Banshidhar Tiwari, and GST department officers.
