SHILLONG — Meghalaya’s revenue surplus has almost disappeared in the first five months of 2026-27, falling to just Rs 6.39 crore by August 2026 from Rs 833.27 crore during the corresponding period last year, provisional accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India show.
The collapse has happened despite revenue receipts remaining almost unchanged. The state collected Rs 6,647.62 crore in revenue by August, compared with Rs 6,691.30 crore during the same period of 2025-26. Revenue expenditure, however, moved sharply in the opposite direction. Spending under the revenue account rose to Rs 6,641.23 crore, against Rs 5,858.03 crore a year earlier, an increase of about 13.4 per cent.
That leaves Meghalaya with virtually no revenue cushion. The state government had budgeted for a Rs 4,771.02-crore revenue surplus for the full financial year, but only around 0.13 per cent of that target had materialised by August.
The contrast with last year is severe. By the same stage in 2025-26, Meghalaya had already recorded Rs 833.27 crore, equivalent to about 16.55 per cent of its annual revenue-surplus target.
A large part of the pressure is coming from expenditure that the government cannot easily switch off. Core revenue expenditure, excluding interest, salaries, pensions and subsidies, increased to Rs 3,146.49 crore from Rs 2,686.74 crore.
Salary and wage payments rose to Rs 2,127.98 crore, compared with Rs 1,926.83 crore last year. Pension expenditure increased to Rs 929.59 crore from Rs 824.78 crore, while interest payments climbed from Rs 418.59 crore to Rs 437.17 crore.
These are recurring obligations. Revenue has to keep pace with them every year merely to preserve the state’s operating balance. Meghalaya’s August accounts show that equation becoming increasingly tight. Capital spending has also accelerated rather than fallen. The state spent Rs 1,076.99 crore on capital expenditure by August, against Rs 803.15 crore in the corresponding period last year, an increase of roughly 34 per cent.
The capital expenditure figure represents about 14.48 per cent of Meghalaya’s Rs 7,439.10-crore capital expenditure budget for 2026-27. At the same stage last year, capital expenditure had reached 11.48 per cent of the previous year’s budget.
The revenue side has not produced a matching improvement. Total tax revenue declined to Rs 5,348.39 crore from Rs 5,527.17 crore during the corresponding period.
There were gains in some tax streams. GST collections increased to Rs 844.98 crore from Rs 743.89 crore, while sales tax collections rose to Rs 451.20 crore from Rs 405.05 crore. But Meghalaya’s share of Union taxes fell substantially, from Rs 4,059.46 crore to Rs 3,725.40 crore, wiping out much of the improvement recorded in GST and sales tax.
The state’s fiscal position is separate from its revenue position. Meghalaya recorded a fiscal deficit of Rs 1,060.25 crore by August, against the full-year budget estimate of Rs 2,671.67 crore.
Total receipts stood at Rs 7,718.23 crore, while total expenditure was Rs 7,718.22 crore. Capital receipts and borrowings remain part of the financing structure behind the state’s overall accounts.
