‘Punjab is in deep debt trap due to previous regimes’, says state government’s White Paper

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: The Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab on Saturday admitted the state is being pushed deeper into a debt trap in a White Paper tabled in the Assembly, but sought to blame the previous governments for the economic morass.

The economies of quite a few state governments are under similar stress, but it is only Punjab that has accepted it upfront. Just last week, the RBI had warned that the economies of Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Bihar are in deep trouble. But Kerala sought to rebut it.

Punjab’s debt has spiraled to 2.63 lakh crore and the state has Rs 24,351.29 crore worth liabilities to service in the immediate term, the document said, warning of an impending crisis. “The current debt indicators of the state are probably the worst in the country, pushing it deeper into a debt trap,” it claimed. The White Paper was tabled by state finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on the second day of ongoing budget session.

It quantified the current debt as a whopping 45.88 per cent of the state GDP. Debt ballooned 44.23 per cent in the last five years at a compounded annual growth rate of 7.6 per cent, it added. Pointing fingers at the previous Congress government, it said they left an immediate and medium-term liability of Rs 24,351.29 crore. Of that amount, Rs 13,759 crore will go towards non-payment of arrears of the sixth pay commission and Rs 7,117.86 crore for power subsidy arrears.

Besides, the share of central taxes plus grants from the Centre, which was 24 per cent of total revenue receipts in 2011-12, has doubled to 46 per cent in 2021-22. This comes as the state’s tax revenue as a percentage of total revenue receipts decreased from 72 per cent to 48 per cent during the same period.

With the GST compensation regime ending in June, the state government would be staring down a big hole in its finances to the tune of Rs 14,000-15,000 crore in 2022-23 itself, the document pointed out.

Total outstanding debt: Rs 2,63,265 crore

How it ballooned

1980-81 – Rs 1,009 crore

2011-12 – Rs 83,099 crore

2021-22 – Rs 2,63,265 crore