Odisha’s loan burden to reach Rs.56,640 crore  

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s debt burden will increase to Rs.56,640 crore as the government has made a budgetary provision to borrow around Rs.12,800 crore by the end of this fiscal.

The Odisha government has targeted to borrow Rs.12,800.38 crore from different sources, increasing its debt burden to Rs.56,640.13 crore by the end of 2015-16, Finance Minister Pradeep Kumar Amat said in reply to a question by BJP legislator Dilip Ray in the assembly.

The minister said the state government intends to raise a loan of Rs.1,634 crore from the Centre, Rs.300 crore from the National Small Savings Fund, Rs.800 crore from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, Rs.2,710 crore from NABARD and other sources and Rs.7,356.38 crore from the open market.

The loan burden was Rs.18,100 crore in 1999-2000, Rs.37,730 crore in 2009-10 and Rs.43,273.38 crore in 2014-15, Amat said.

The total borrowing of the state was Rs 38,666. 24 crore during 2013-14 fiscal.

During 2013-14, borrowing increased to Rs 38,666. 24 crore with the rise in population to 4.34 crore and the per capita debt burden rose to Rs 8,909.

However, an official of finance department attributing the reasons behind the growing debt burden said the state government is not resorting to unnecessary borrowing.

He said the government had paid loans having higher interest rates.

Besides, the state has been exempted from paying Rs 1,909.5 crore towards loan repayment from the central government for its fiscal accountability and successful implementation of Budget Management Act, 2005 from 2005-06 to 2009-10.