Debt at Rs 2.5 lakh cr: Capt

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 24

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today said the state’s debt could be as high as Rs 2.5 lakh crore and its economic health way poorer than previously anticipated.

“Financial implications are becoming clear one by one. The state’s debt is pegged to be much more than the often cited amount of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. It could be as high as Rs 2.5 lakh crore. A White Paper on the state’s economic status is being prepared. It will reveal a lot of hidden debt,” Amarinder told The Tribune in an interview today.

“The White Paper should be ready by mid-June before the Budget. The Finance Minister and his team are working on it. An assessment of the ground situation is important. We have made many commitments to the people in our election manifesto,” he said.

Commenting on the scale of the anticipated debt of Rs 2.5 lakh crore, the CM said “out-of-box thinking” was required for the state to function.

“Our revenue deficit is Rs 26,000 crore,” he said a day after seeking a special package from the Centre.

Asked how he proposed to fulfill the poll promise of farm loan waiver — something the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh Government had already done — Amarinder said the UP scheme was a gimmick.

“We are looking at a much comprehensive farm loan waiver. Our farm loan amount is around Rs 31,000 crore, of which Rs 18,000 crore is the principal and the remaining interest. Of this main amount, half is of cooperative and nationalised banks and the rest is largely unaccounted as it belongs to commission agents. We are starting negotiations with banks and looking at a very early time window to close this issue because farm suicides are still on,” he said.

On the time line for the meeting the promise, Amarinder said: “We have given 60 days to the Agriculture Crisis Commission set up recently to report on this issue and will address it on top priority.”

Little over a month old in office, the CM spoke of one of his ideas to deliver the “one job per household” promise.

“We have made commitments of ghar ghar naukri and fully loaded cell phones. These commitments would have to be met from outside the Budget. Under “ghar ghar naukri” we plan to target one lakh people a year for jobs by getting them to own Ola or Uber cabs in clusters of three. Similar ownerships are being contemplated in sectors like tractors, mini buses and buses,” said Amarinder.