Annaul Budget

(1) The Sarpanch or as the case may be, the Vikas Adhikari or the Chief Executive Officer shall, before the prescribed date in each year, frame and place before the Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti or Zila Parishad respectively, a complete account of the actual receipts and expenditure upto a prescribed date and expected receipts and expenditure for the financial year ending on 31st March, following together with budget estimates of the income, expenditure and other receipt of the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution for the financial year to commence on the first day of April next following.

(2) The concerned Panchayati Raj Institution shall thereupon decide upon the appropriate and the ways and means contained in the budget estimates.

(3) In such estimates, the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution shall among other things-

(a) make adequate and suitable provision for such services as may be required for the fulfillment of the several duties imposed on the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution by this Act or any other law;

(b) provide for the payments, as they fall due, of all installments of principal and interest for which the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution may be liable in respect of loans contracted by it;

(c) allow for a balance at the end of the said years of not less tan such sum as may, from time to time, be fixed by the State Government.

(4) The budget estimates as finally passed by the Panchayat shall be submitted to the Vikas Adhikari and those of the Panchayat Samiti to the Chief Executive Officer and of the Zila Parishad to the Director, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department on or before such date, as may be prescribed, who shall, after scrutiny, place the same with his comments before the Panchayat Samiti or the Zila Parishad or the State Government, as the case may be, within the prescribed time for sanction. If the sanctioning authority is satisfied that adequate provision has not been made in the budget estimates to give effect to the provisions of this Act, it shall have the power to suggest such modifications as may be necessary to secure such provision and return it to the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution with its observations regarding the modifications to be made therein. The concerned Panchayati Raj Institution shall consider such observations and pass the budget with such modifications as it deems fit :

Provided that, if the sanctioning authority fails to return the budget to the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution within the time prescribed in this behalf, the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution may incur the expenditure on committed items and other items of expenditure for which the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution has or will raise its own resources subject to the progrmmes to be taken up being in conformity with the priorities assigned to the various programmes in the State Plan:

Provided that, if the sanctioning authority fails to return the budget to the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution within the time prescribed in this behalf, the concerned Panchayat Raj Institution may incur the expenditure on committed items and other items of expenditure for which the concerned Panchayati Raj Institution has or will raise its own resources subject to the programmes to be taken up being in conformity with the priorities assigned to the various programmes in the State Plan:

Provided further that no expenditure shall be incurred by a Panchayati Raj Institution on any items of expenditure for which a matching grant is to be obtained till such time as the budget is returned by the sanctioning authority.

(5) If, in the course of a year, a Panchayati Raj Institution finds it necessary to make any alterations in the budget with regard to its receipts or the distribution of the amount to be expended for the purpose of this Act, a supplementary or revised budget may be framed, passed, submitted and modified in the manner provided in Sub-Secs. (1), (2) and (4).