Information provided by government sources in response to the allegations made by P. Chidambaram
The money collected with the help of fuel tax was spent by the government on development works
The central government has spent about Rs 100 lakh crore over the last eight years on infrastructure development and social sector programs.
Citing the RBI report, the sources said that the amount spent by the central government on development works during 2014-15 to 2021-22 was Rs 90,89,233 crore. Earlier this month, former finance minister P. Chidambaram said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has collected Rs 26.5 lakh crore through tax on fuel gas during the year 2014-2021 but the total expenditure on free food to the people, cash assistance to women, PM-Kisan Nidhi scheme and other cash transfer schemes is Rs 2.25 lakh crore. Not less than the tax levied by the Central Government on an annual basis.
Sources said that the figures presented to the former finance minister are very low by the government while the government has spent four times more on development works. Sources said it was clear that the revenue collected from the tax on fuel was being spent by the government on developers. And it is unfortunate that the former finance minister has forgotten the basic data points.
How much money did the central government spend?
Giving details of the expenditure incurred by the central government on infrastructure and social sector schemes, the sources said that out of this amount, more than Rs 26 lakh crore has been spent on modernization of infrastructure and creation of productive assets. So a whopping Rs 25 lakh crore has been spent on food, fertilizer and fuel subsidies. So Rs 10 lakh crore has been spent on social services like health, education, affordable housing etc.
