Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said revenue-earning departments should mobilise resources and reach targets set for the present fiscal.If the state “economically devastated” during the YSRC rule should recover and develop, the revenue-earning departments should produce the best results,” he said while conducting a review on resources and revenue growth, at the Secretariat on Tuesday. He said new ideas should emerge to increase revenue. “Working routinely with normal performance and normal goals will not yield desired results. We should come up with innovative ideas. The fall in revenue should be corrected and income increased through use of technology.” Officials, he said, should not harass traders regarding taxes but work to increase the revenues. Pointing out that financial resources are crucial for welfare programmes and development works, the CM suggested, “Keeping this in mind, officials in the revenue departments should work and show daily progress. The living standards of the people have fallen due to the policies of the previous government. We cannot put additional burden on the people for revenue.” Naidu said he was constantly in contact with the Centre for more funds. He had met the 16th Finance Commission chairman Arvind Panagariya and explained the state’s financial situation. The officials gave a presentation on revenue from cotton. The total revenue from commercial taxes for the 2023-24 fiscal was Rs 41,420 crore. This fiscal, so far, Rs 41382 crore has been received. There will be a growth in revenue in February and March, they said. Officials said the revenue would increase due to the new excise policy. The mining department has not increased its revenue to the expected level. To this, the CM proposed steps like settlement of court cases and more mining permissions. The mining department should get maximum revenue in view of the availability of such resources in the state, he said. Officials have estimated that the revenue from VAT, GST, excise, and professional and commercial taxes will increase slightly this fiscal. The state government will have Rs 1,02,154 crore in the financial year 2024-25. Naidu said he will review the revenue generation from now on, and asked officials to show better results. Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav and officials from various departments were present.
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