Shimla: Himachal Pradesh’s loan liability till February stood at Rs.12,211.59 crore, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said Tuesday.
He said the government had raised a loan of Rs.11,519.12 crore from various financial institutions from 2008 to 2012.
Rs.337.46 crore was raised from the central government in five years at an interest up to nine percent, he said in a written reply in the assembly.
Singh, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the government this year took a loan of Rs.692.47 crore, including Rs.500 crore from the Reserve Bank of India at an interest rate of 8.48 percent.
To meet the loan liabilities, the state government has approached the central government for a financial package.
In his budget speech last month, Singh told the assembly that the state’s loan liability had increased by Rs.7,272 crore in the past five years.
The loan dues, which were Rs.21,241 crore in March 2008, are expected to be Rs.28,513 crore in March this year, the chief minister said.
Singh has said the salary burden on the state, which was Rs.2,615 crore in 2007-08, increased to Rs.6,956 crore in 2013-14.
Similarly, the pension burden has increased during this period from Rs.880 crore to Rs.2,839 crore and the interest payment burden from Rs.1,778 crore to Rs.2,431 crore.
Tourism, horticulture and hydropower generation are major contributors to Himachal Pradesh’s economic development.
-IANS
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“The loan dues, which were Rs.21,241 crore in March 2008, are expected to be Rs.28,513 crore in March this year”…………….loan liability increased by around Rs 7,000 crore roughly over the span of last 4 years(till 2012) as per financial records of the state. …the situation very grim as onlyTourism, horticulture and hydropower generation are major contributors to Himachal Pradesh’s economic development……unlike other states in the country. To top it all, as per the recent reports by CAG Hiamchal has not even harnessed 30% of its hydroelectric potential till date.This shows how lazy and imprudent we are in raising revenue over past many years.Tourism is mostly dependent on low end tourists (who don’t add much to the state’s exchequer) and infrastructure is just satisfactory according to Indian standards. Horticulture is too much dependent on weather and slow introduction of improved agriculture and horticulture scientific practices doesn’t paint a rosy future ahead too.