State records 30.8% jump in capex in Feb

Gandhinagar: The state govt registered an impressive hike of 30.8% in capital expenditure in Feb 2026, compared to the same month last year. According to official data, there has also been a 17.5% hike in the actual spending by various departments this Feb compared to Feb 2025. Capital expenditure went up from Rs 72,192 crore in Feb 2025 to Rs 94,449 crore in Feb 2026, an increase of 30.8%. Actual revenue spending too rose by 11.6% from Rs 1,64,572 crore to Rs 1,83,635 crore. According to official data, the overall actual budgetary expenditure increased by 17.5% in Feb 2026 compared to the same period last year.Govt officials say this is a marked shift from state departments' practice of "parking" huge amounts from allocated funds every financial year because of their inability to spend on various projects. Chief secretary Manoj Das chaired a review of department-wise spending at the Committee of Secretaries (COS) meeting on Wednesday. "Except for two or three departments, most departments, for the first time, could spend more funds as projected in the 2025-26 budget," said a source.While reviewing the overall budget spending, the finance and other departments were appreciated for maintaining better financial discipline. The chief secretary also directed all departments to ready all provisional approval paperwork for continuing and new items of the 2026-27 budget, and start issuing approvals from April 1. Departments have been told to ensure timely capital and revenue expenditure as per actual budget estimates, so that they do not have to park funds at the end of the year.