Team Herald
PORVORIM: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Thursday refuted opposition allegations that the State is entering into a debt trap. He said that the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was at 4 per cent has now touched double digits, despite the State facing Rs 5000 crore revenue loss in the last four years due to the mining ban.
He claimed that the State’s market borrowings are spent on capital expenditure, with the government in a position to pay all the installments along with the interest.
“Opposition benches have tried to portray the picture that the government has got into a debt trap. This is not right. The bank allows borrowings till I have a capacity to repay. There is a permissible limit put by Union Ministry of Finance and we have never exceeded our limit,” he stated.
“It’s dangerous if I borrow to make payments of salaries, schemes or maintenance, but we have invested the money on capital expenditure,” he informed the House.
Parsekar said the government has been able to plug the revenue leakages to consolidate revenue but has ensured that tax was not increased. He reiterated that the government will ensure that the petrol prices in the State don’t cross Rs 60 per litre mark.
Parsekar said the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has done extremely well, and was converted into a profit-making institution in the last financial year, for the first time. “It also granted interest of Rs 13 crore to the State,” he added.
