By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 26: The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) passed its annual surplus budget for the financial year 2024-25 on the final day of its summer session, here on Thursday.
The budget, presented by Executive Member in charge of Finance, Seiborlang Warbah, shows a surplus of Rs 5.24 lakh. The total estimated revenue stands at Rs 227.53 crore, which is slightly higher than the proposed expenditure of Rs 227.48 crore.
Warbah had earlier presented the budget estimates for 2025-26 on Tuesday.
The budget was approved through a voice vote following the completion of voting on the demand for grants. In the Budget, General Administration department has been allocated Rs 36.03 crore, Law department Rs 70.63 lakh, Revenue and Finance department Rs 12.09 crore (both plan and non-plan), Forest Administration department Rs 10.30 crore (both plan and non-plan), Civil Works & Development department Rs 145.29 crore (both plan and non-plan), Education department Rs 40.50 lakh, Administration of Justice and Judicial department Rs 6.14 crore, Legislative department Rs 9.62 lakh and Enforcement Scheme for Protection of Tribal Land & Interest Rs 6.14 crore.
During the general discussion, Warbah acknowledged that the VPP-led Executive Committee faces significant challenges due to lack of experience. “It’s a big challenge for the new EC but, by working together, we have managed to move forward. This proves that unity is strength,” he said in his reply.
Warbah assured that the Executive Committee would work hard to achieve its goals and emphasized the importance of avoiding wasteful expenditures.
He then noted that several advisory committees in the past led to high costs.
To address this, the new EC plans to establish a Recruitment Committee to streamline the recruitment process of any vacancies in the KHADC.
Meanwhile, he also revealed that the new EC has implemented austerity measures to improve the KHADC’s financial health.
According to him, one of the austerity measures include reducing the number of Executive Members and disbanding non-essential advisory committees that incurred costs through honorariums and allowances.
Warbah also stressed the need to effectively utilise assets of the KHADC to prevent them from becoming liabilities.
It may be mentioned that the budget will cover the salaries of council members, including the chairperson, deputy chairman, leader of the opposition, executive members (EMs), and staff across the executive, legislative and judicial departments.
