Kolkata, Dec 13 (NationPress) With less than five months left until the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the state government has initiated preparations for the interim budget session, as confirmed by a senior official at the state secretariat on Saturday.

While the exact dates for the budget session have not yet been disclosed, it customarily takes place in February.

In light of this, Nabanna has provided a set of guidelines to various state departments to commence preparations, with the budget session expected to occur in the first or second week of February. Reports indicate that several departments have already started groundwork concerning the budget.

The State Finance Secretary, Prabhat Kumar Mishra, has directed that state government-owned commercial and semi-commercial entities submit their financial records for the last three fiscal years as part of the preparatory work for the 2026–27 budget publication. This directive has been communicated to principal secretaries of all departments, urging them to hasten their budget-related tasks.

Departments have been instructed to take necessary actions to guarantee the timely submission of financial statements from all public sector undertakings and corporations within their jurisdiction. These details will be incorporated into the consolidated report compiled according to the prescribed budget publication guidelines.

The notification also sets a deadline for completing the compilation of the 2026–27 budget through the state’s designated online portal. All relevant budget publication information must be gathered and submitted by December 24.

In accordance with the guidelines, all pertinent data must be uploaded to the Finance Department’s portal. Principal secretaries of all departments have been urged to regard this matter as extremely urgent.

It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has consistently instructed officials during administrative review meetings that ongoing development work should not be disrupted by activities related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. She has stressed that the message of development must reach every household prior to the 2026 Assembly elections.

In alignment with these directives, the state secretariat has reiterated the necessity for departments to ensure the prompt uploading of all essential information concerning the upcoming budget session on the Finance Department's portal.