Ranchi, Jan 16 (PTI) Jharkhand Finance minister Radha Krishna Kishore on Thursday held pre-budget consultation with different departments as part of preparations for the annual state budget for fiscal 2025-26.

Kishore said that they are seeking suggestions from every section of society to prepare a good budget.

"We started a two-day pre-budget consultation with different departments on Thursday. We are also taking suggestions from experts. Earlier, a portal was launched in which we have received around 800 suggestions so far," Kishore said.

The minister said that they held meetings with agriculture, forest, urban development and some other departments and they gave valuable suggestions.

"Issues were also discussed regarding storing of surface water and groundwater recharge. We could use only 20 per cent of the surface water. We will focus on storing the remaining 80 per cent of the surface water in the budget. I have also suggested to the forest department to provide connectivity to those who are given Van Patta (forest lease)," he said.

Kishore further said that he would write to the Centre seeking Jhakhand's pending grants-in-aid. "Grants-in-aid from the Centre for Jharkhand was estimated at around Rs 16,000 crore this fiscal. But, we have received only Rs 4,000 crore so far. I will write to the Centre after a meeting with officials of concerned departments and seek the pending grants," he said.

The pre-budget consultation started with the Agriculture department. Agriculture minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey was also present at the meeting.

"During the meeting, I have demanded the budget allocation of my department should not be slashed at any cost as there were many projects that could not be implemented in the previous tenure due to various reasons such as Covid pandemic and elections. My focus is to implement them on ground," Tirkey said.

The budget session of the Jharkhand assembly will be held from February 24 to March 27. The budget for the fiscal 2025-26 will be tabled on March 3, an official said.

This will be the first budget of the Hemant Soren government after the JMM-led alliance returned to power, winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly in November 2024.

Earlier on January 5, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched a portal and a mobile application to seek suggestions, opinions and ideas from people for the preparation of the state budget for the 2025-26 fiscal.

The portal and mobile app are open for submissions till January 17.

The platform - Abua' (own) Budget Portal and Mobile App - offers a unique opportunity for citizens, experts, and stakeholders to contribute to the budgetary process, ensuring a more inclusive and responsive fiscal plan, an official said. PTI SAN SAN RG

Budget consultations shape fiscal priorities, prioritising surface water storage, forest-lease connectivity and pursuit of pending grants. Pre-budget consultations and an open portal will inform Jharkhand's 2025-26 budget; priorities include surface water storage and groundwater recharge, improved connectivity for forest lease beneficiaries, and pursuing pending grants-in-aid from the central government, while protecting agriculture allocations to implement unfinished projects.