Kolkata, Jan 21 (IANS): The forthcoming budget session of the West Bengal Assembly is expected to start on February 12 this year, exactly 11 days after the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the Union budget on the floor of the Parliament on February 1.

This will be the last state budget to be presented by the West Bengal minister in charge of finance (independent charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya before the crucial West Bengal Assembly elections due in 2026.

Sources from the state finance department said that initially it was decided that the budget session of the Assembly this year will start from February 7. However, a state finance department official said on condition of anonymity that later February 12 was fixed as the tentative date for the first day of the budget session.

State finance department sources said that considering that this will be the last full budget before the state Assembly elections in 2026, there is a possibility of enhancement in allocation under different welfare and doll schemes offered by the state government, especially for women and youth. At the same time, there is a possibility of an announcement of the increase in the Dearness Allowance for the state government, which had been a long contentious issue with a case in the matter being pending with the Supreme Court.

However, state finance department officials added that even if there is a three percentage point increase in the Dearness Allowance for the state government employees, the gaps with their counterparts in the Union government will continue to be quite high. Currently, the West Bengal government employees are getting Dearness Allowance at the rate of 14 per cent, as against 53 per cent for the Union government employees.

Moreover, the question still remains whether the state budget for the financial year 2024-25 will show any new avenue for enhancement of the state's own tax revenue generation, which is still highly dependent on state excise.