12 days for budget, Bengal finance minister vows to plug revenue ‘leaks’

Kolkata: Newly appointed Bengal finance minister Swapan Dasgupta on Wednesday outlined the key challenges but said he would prefer to assess the situation before making any comments on his new responsibilities. He also stated that revenue leakage was an area of concern, and the govt would address it.Speaking to TOI after being assigned the finance portfolio, Dasgupta maintained a cautious stance, saying: “Let me join first and understand the situation. Then only I can comment.”The state govt will present the full budget on June 22, leaving him with only 12 days in hand. Now, as the finance minister, Dasgupta’s primary role is to prepare the budget. However, he will also have to navigate the state’s finances to come out of the huge debt burden. In the revised estimate of 2025-26, the state has over Rs 7.6 lakh crore outstanding debt.Earlier in the day, while speaking to a private channel, he said: “I am not the person who will make a budget speech with a treadmill approach. Many things have to be considered before doing these things.”After assuming charge, Dasgupta visited the finance department at Nabanna and interacted with the officials. “I know the problems, but today I have tried to understand various things,” he said.The govt will have to increase its own tax revenue to tackle the rising expenditure under different heads. Acknowledging this challenge, Dasgupta said: “We will see how to increase revenue generation.”“The biggest challenge is how to increase revenue without raising taxes. This will require considerable financial management and restructuring,” he told reporters at Nabanna.The minister pointed to revenue leakages — often referred to as “transmission losses” — as a major concern. “There are leakages in several areas. These gaps must be plugged as far as possible to ensure that the govt receives the revenue it is entitled to,” he said.Dasgupta also suggested that the state may not be fully realising its revenue-generating potential. According to him, administrative inefficiencies could be partly responsible for the shortfall.“In many sectors, the revenue potential is much higher than what is currently being collected. There may be administrative issues in some cases. It is also possible that the previous govt did not make a full effort to maximise revenue collection. I am not making any definitive claims yet, but many possibilities need to be examined,” he said.Referring to the scale of the challenge, Dasgupta remarked that Bengal might require a comprehensive economic revival programme. “Many people call it a Marshall Plan. Perhaps Bengal will also need a Marshall Plan,” he said.Dasgupta, a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, previously served as a member of the Rajya Sabha. He won the Assembly elections from Rashbehari constituency on a BJP ticket and took oath as a cabinet minister on June 1.