Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Friday informed that the State has raised Rs11,044.44 crore in three years and paid Rs4,454.83 crore as interest on borrowings during the period,
The State's loan liability till February 29 this year includes Rs7,162 crore from the open market and Rs242.82 crore from the Centre, he told the State Assembly in a written reply.
Virbhadra Singh, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said that interest on the borrowings ranged from zero percent to 13 per cent.
He said despite limited resources, the hill State brought down the debt-gross State domestic product ratio to 34.8 in 2014-15 as against the 40.1 percent target fixed by the 13th Finance Commission.
The State Government raised all market loans only after obtaining the Centre's approval under Article 293 (3) of the Constitution, he said.
Notably, the Chief Minister in his budget speech on March 8, had said that out of every Rs100 spent, Rs28.98 go towards salaries of Government employees, Rs12.89 for pensions, Rs 10.43 for interest payment, Rs6.84 for loan repayment, and the remaining Rs40.86 are spent on developmental works.