188. Presentation of accounts and budget of Zilla Panchayat.
(1)The Finance, Audit and Planning Committees shall cause to be prepared and laid before the Zilla Panchayat at a meeting which shall be held between the first day of February and the tenth day of March a complete account of the actual and expected receipts and expenditure for the financial year ending on the thirty-first day of March next following together with a budget estimate of the income and expenditure of the Zilla Panchayat for the financial year to commence on the first day of April next following.(2)The Zilla Panchayat shall thereupon decide upon the appropriations and the ways and means contained in the budget of the year to commence on the first day of April next following. The budget as passed by the Zilla Panchayat shall be sent to the Government before such date as may be fixed by the Government.(3)In such budget estimate, the Zilla Panchayat 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 Zilla Panchayat by this Act or any other law;(b)provide for the payment, as they fall due, of all instalments of principal and interest for which the Zilla Panchayat may be liable in respect of loans contracted by it;(c)allow for a balance at the end of the said year of not less than such sum or percentage of income as may from time to time, be fixed by the Government either generally for all Zilla Panchayats or specially for any Zilla Panchayat.(4)If such budget estimate is not in accordance with the provisions of this Act or the rules and orders issued thereunder, the Government may, within two months from the date of receipt of the budget, modify the same to secure compliance with this Act, the rules or the orders:Provided that the Government shall not have power to direct that total proposed expenditure shall exceed the total of the estimated income of the Zilla Panchayat for the following year and the opening balance.(5)If the Zilla Panchayat fails to approve the budget estimate on or before the date mentioned in sub-section (1), the Chief Executive Officer shall forward the budget estimate to the Government and the Government shall approve it with or without modification. The budget as approved by the Government shall be certified by the Government and thereupon shall be deemed to have been duly approved by the Zilla Panchayat.
