Minister for Parliamentary Affairs K. Radhakrishnan has said the State’s debt has grown to ₹3.32 lakh crore (as of March 31).
He was responding to questions during the Question Hour in the House on behalf of Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Tuesday.
Nonetheless, financial position would not deter the government from pursuing development projects such as the SilverLine semi-high speed rail corridor project. Such activities, along with the various welfare schemes, are bound to bring in more revenue for the State in the future and improve the living standards of the people, Mr. Radhakrishnan said adding that the government hoped to improve tax collection.
Reacting to questions raised by Opposition members, he said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had reined in the increasing debt burden. While there had been an increase of 100.03% in the State’s debt from 2010-11 to 2015-16, the rise was brought down to 88.66% from 2016-17 to 2020-21.
The government attributed the financial situation to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, revisions in salaries and pensions of employees and teachers, shrinking share in the divisible pool of Central taxes, and shortfall in GST compensation.
Rubbishing claims raised by the Opposition that the State could suffer an economic crisis similar to the one faced by Sri Lanka, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the existing situation did not warrant a white paper on the State’s finances.
