The West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 are just five months away, and the state government has begun preparing for the interim budget session, according to a senior official at the State Secretariat. The budget session of the state Assembly usually takes place in the month of February, but the actual date has not yet been announced officially.
In this context, Nabanna has issued a series of guidelines to various state departments to initiate preparations, with the budget session likely to be convened in the first or second week of February. It is learnt that several departments have already begun groundwork related to the budget exercise.
State Finance Secretary Prabhat Kumar Mishra has issued a directive instructing state government-owned commercial and semi-commercial entities to submit their accounts for the past three financial years as part of the preparatory process for the 2026–27 budget publication. The directive has been sent to the principal secretaries of all departments, asking them to expedite the budget-related work.
The departments have been instructed to take necessary steps to ensure the timely submission of financial statements of all public sector undertakings and corporations under their administrative control. These details are to be included in the consolidated list prepared in accordance with the prescribed budget publication guidelines.
The notification also specifies a deadline for completing the compilation of the 2026–27 budget publication through the state’s designated online portal. All information related to the budget publication process must be collected and submitted by December 24.
As per the guidelines, all relevant data must be uploaded to the Finance Department’s portal. Principal secretaries of all departments have been directed to treat the matter as extremely urgent.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly emphasized on uninterrupted development work ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Moreover, the state secretariat has directed all departments to strictly adhere to the prescribed timelines. Officials have been instructed to ensure that all budget-related information is uploaded promptly on the Finance Department’s portal, underlining the urgency attached to the upcoming budget session.
With Inputs From IANS.
(SY)
Suggested Reading:
