Debt touches Rs 90K-crore mark, going to get tougher for state

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 31

The going will get tougher for the fund-starved Himachal in the coming days, as the total debt liability of the state government has touched the Rs 90,000 crore mark. This includes Rs 24,176 crore loans raised during the term of the present Congress government.

The latest loan figures indicate that the Congress government has raised Rs 24,176 crore loans between December 15, 2022, and March 31, 2024. “The financial health of the state is extremely alarming and with little hope of help from the Central Government, the situation is getting more worrisome,” admits a senior officer.

Rs 9,200 cr NPS funds not refunded

• Despite repeated pleas, the Central Government has not returned ~9,200 crore deposited under the new pension scheme (NPS), said the Chief Minister in the Assembly
• The state is also no longer getting the GST compensation from the Central Government and as a result the revenue has reduced by almost ~2,500 crore to ~3,000 crore every year
• The loan borrowing limit, too, has been reduced by ~2,000 crore, compounding the state’s financial woes

Of the total Rs 24,176 crore loans raised since the Congress formed government in the state, Rs 21,366 crore was fresh loans while Rs 5,864 crore of the past debt was repaid. Besides, the government has raised Rs 2,810 crore loans against the general provident funds, which it is authorised to do.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has admitted on a number of occasions that the financial health of the state is very poor, with no help from the Central Government. The salary (Rs 1,200 crore per month), pension (Rs 800 crore per month) and loan repayment liabilities of the government consume most of the budget and around 28 per cent funds are left for development works. In fact, two days ago, Sukhu had announced that his salary and allowances and that of other ministers, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and the chairmen of boards and corporations would be deferred by two months.

As per the loan details presented in the Vidhan Sabha yesterday, the government had raised Rs 6,897 crore debt between December 15, 2022, and March 31, 2023. In financial year 2023-24, the government raised Rs 10,521 crore loans while between April 1 and July 31 this year, it again took Rs 3,948 crore loans.

The restoration of the old pension scheme is also adding to the financial woes of the state. “The revenue deficit grant (RDG) for 2023-24 was Rs 8,058 crore, which during the current financial year has been reduced by Rs 1,800 grant crore to Rs 6,258 crore,” Sukhu had informed the Assembly. He also said that in 2025-26, the RDG would be reduced by another Rs 3,000 crore to a mere Rs 3,257 crore, which would make it even tougher for Himachal to meet its needs.

The Chief Minister and other ministers have been lamenting that the delay on the part of the Central Government to release Rs 9,042 crore under the Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) is compounding the problems of the state. The money is awaited on account of the losses suffered due to damage caused to roads, bridges and other infrastructure during the monsoon in 2023.