Haryana in debt trap of over Rs 2.29 lakh crore

Chandigarh, Feb 26 Every child born in Haryana is saddled with a debt of Rs 1 lakh. This is true with the estimated total debt on the state increasing to over Rs 2.29 lakh crore.

The main opposition Congress, which was at the helm for a decade till 2014, has been blaming the BJP-JJP government for pushing the state into debt and taking it towards bankruptcy.

And ahead of the budget session for this year which is going to table be on March 8, it will give opportunity to oppositions to raise questions on the current government, as the elections for the state are also coming closer it is going to be a lot of pressure on BJP to present good budget otherwise the party could lose its power in the state.

As per official figures, the state's debt was Rs 70,931 crore in 2014-15 when the BJP assumed power in the state for the first time.

In the current fiscal, it is expected to touch a whopping Rs 229,976 crore by the end of this fiscal.

As per budget estimates of 2021-22, the debt to GSDP ratio is estimated at 23.27 per cent in 2020-21, while it was 16.23 per cent in 2014-15. For the next fiscal, it is estimated at 25.92 per cent.

Leader of Opposition and two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda told that the BJP-JJP government is taking the state towards bankruptcy.

"That is why the debt figures were not clearly stated in the last budget speech. As per our estimations, the total debt has increased to Rs 2.25 lakh crore by March 2021," he said.

Opposing the steep hike in development charges in areas falling under the civic bodies, Hooda said the Congress would question the government on issues of corruption, debt and unemployment in the upcoming Budget session of the Assembly.

He said the state had a debt of about Rs 70,000 crore when the BJP took over the reins of the state after the 2014 Assembly elections. Before handing over the helm several projects of national importance were commissioned by the Congress government.

"In the past seven years, the debt has increased to Rs 2.5 lakh crore," said Hooda, adding no major project was established. "Where have these thousands of crores gone?"

According to Hooda, under the Congress government Haryana had become number one in per capita income, investment and generating employment.

"The neglect of 52,000 anganwadi workers is a living example of the negative thinking of the BJP-JJP government towards the daughters. Women workers say the government is not implementing the announcement made by the Prime Minister on September 10, 2018, to increase the honorarium of workers by Rs 1,500 and for helpers by Rs 750," he said.

A revenue surplus state till 2008-09, Haryana has consistently been in deficit after that. In 2016-17, the debt burden was Rs 124,935 crore.

In 2017-18, the interest payments were pegged at Rs 11,257 crore up from Rs 9,616 crore in 2016-17. In 2015-16, it was Rs 8,284 crore.

CRISIL's last year study of the top 18 states, including Haryana and Punjab, says the aggregate indebtedness of states, measured by debt to gross state domestic product

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