SUBHASH MİSHRA
Dhanbad, Feb 26: The Jharkhand government has a total debt of Rs 84,944 crores of central government till March 31st of 2022-23 financial years.
The state government replied to this in a question from Jamshedpur East MLA Saryu Roy in the assembly on Monday.
The government responded that the total state government loan is Rs 84,944 crores, of which Rs 5,962 crores loans were before creating a separate Jharkhand state.
The other payable amount of the loan is 33,504 crores.
Saryu Roy had asked whether, at present, there is a debt of Rs 1.14 lakh crores in Jharkhand, which the state government has taken on high interest rates.
The government replied that according to the civil account of Accountant General till December 2023, net withdrawal from different agencies was 383 crores, and net payments were Rs 2,293 crores. So, there is a debt of Rs 85,327 crores on the Jharkhand government.
Besides that, the other payment due from the public account is 35,794 crores.
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In a cash loan of Rs 85,327 crores of the National Small Saving Fund (NSSF), the interest rate is between 9 and 10%. The interest rate of the UDAY Bond is between 8 to 9 %, while the remaining loan is around 8% interest rate.
In another question of Saryu Roy whether the 2020-21 financial year loan load on the state government had reached around 11% of state revenue, the government, in a written reply, said that the financial years of 2020-21 were Covid-affected years. The revenue income of the state was Rs 56,149.00 crores, while interest payment was Rs 5,790.47 crores, which is 10.3%, not 11%.
The independent MLA had also asked whether the Government of India had given interest-free heavy loans on a long-term basis to state governments against GST compensation; the government replied that all state governments are being given loans under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment. This loan is being offered in one financial year over the condition of total expenditure for developing capital infrastructure.
The government also clarified that it is not a GST compensation loan. GST compensation loan ended in June 2022.
Saryu Roy had also sought information about what amount of loan was taken in which periods, what was the reason for taking a loan and from which institutions it was accepted.
The government replied that the loan is taken mainly from Open Market Borrowing, NABARD, HUDCO, National Co-operative Development Corporation ( NCDC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and National Housing Board( NHB).
The earlier loan was also given by the central government from NSSF, but the Jharkhand government stopped taking loans from them.
Besides, the state government also has loans from the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Co-operative Agency, the World Bank, and others.