Every citizen of Uttar Pradesh carries a debt of Rs 17,859 on his or her head as the debt burden of the state government is expected to reach Rs 3.75 lakh crore by the end of next financial year 2016-17.
The debt burden on each citizen which was around Rs 15,724 in the current 2015-16 when the total debt on the state was around Rs 3, 30 lakh crore. Thus within a year, debt burden on each citizen increased by Rs 2,135. The debt on each persons of UP was Rs 13,341in 2014-15 when the state’s debt was Rs 2, 66 lakh crores. With a population of 21 crore the state’s debt burden, has climbed to 30.3 per cent of the Gross State Domestic product (GSDP) in 2016-17 which was 30 per cent in 2015-16.
UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, too have expressed his concern over the debt but assured that the situation was under control since the Samajwadi Party government came to power in 2012.
“For financing the new development and infrastructure projects, government needs to borrow capital from the market and financial institutions –thus the debt burden’’ said the CM.
The Principal Secretary Finance Rahul Bhatnagar claimed that every government takes loan and there is nothing new in it.
”But UP’s debt is under control and decreasing year by year,” he claimed.
But is after 2012-13, that the debt of the state touched 30 per cent mark of the GSDP in 2015-16 and expected to increase further to 30.3 in the next fiscal. The details of the state debt were disclosed in the state budget details for 2016-17, which was tabled in the state assembly on Friday.
Of the total expected loans of the UP government during the next fiscal 2016-17, the highest would be from the market borrowing of Rs 1,612 crores. UP government is also expecting a loan of Rs 1,307 crores from the Centre, Rs 1,128 crore from financial institutions and Rs 5,044 crores from power bonds.
According to the budget statistics, the total revenue receipts of the state government are estimated to be Rs 3, 40 lakh crore in 2016-17, with the 29.4 per cent coming from the state taxes, 30.8 per cent from the state’s share in Central taxes and 14.7 per cent from the Central assistances. The government revenue receipts also include 15.8 per cent from the recovery of loans and interests.
With the total expenditure of Rs 3.46 lakh crore, the highest 65.4 per cent or over 1.85 lakh crore will be spent on salary, pension, interest and payment of principal of old loans. The share of the capital expenditure in total expenditure is 21 per cent.