Assam: Congress demands a white paper on the state’s fiscal health

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) has demanded the Assam government to publish a white paper on the exact financial position of the state from 2021-2024 that comes under the regime of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Addressing the media here today, former MP Ripun Bora said, "The demanded white paper has to show the total revenue receipts, funds received from the central government on different heads, amounts received as loans and borrowings, expenses on different heads and sectors, reasons for drastic cuts on capital expenditure, i.e., expenditure on infrastructure and development, and reasons for repeated increases of VAT (Value Added Tax) on petrol and diesel, including the recent increase of Rs 1.01 per litre of petrol."

Bora said, "The Chief Minister may claim a strong fiscal health of the state government, but the reality speaks otherwise. During the period from 2021, the state has been facing many unprecedented financial problems. During this period, there has been an increase in revenue deficits that have been Rs 2,732.77 crore in 2021-22. It became Rs 12,072.35 crore in 2022-23, registering an increase of 341.76 percent. Tax revenue increased by 13.66 percent during 2022-23, and the state's own tax revenue increased by 25.44 percent. The fiscal deficit in the state also increased to Rs 30,204.83 crore in 2022-23 from Rs 19,863.12 crore in 2021-22, registering an increase of 52.06 percent."

Bora said that the state government is dependent on loans and borrowings. He said, "In 2016, when former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's regime came to an end after a long 15-year rule, the total debt of the government was Rs 35,000 crore. It increased to Rs 66,020.65 crore during the five-year rule by former Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal from 2016-2021. However, during the past two-and-a-half- years under Himanta Biswa Sarma as the chief minister since 2021-24, the amount of debt increased to Rs 1,52,000 crore, registering an increase of Rs 85,980 crore. As a result, the state has to pay a major part of its budget amount of Rs 7,299.18 crore annually as interest on this debt."

Bora alleged that the loans were not taken for any major projects and development programmes but to meet the day-to-day expenses and individual beneficiaries' expenses.

Citing the 2022-23 CAG report, Bora said, "The capital expenditure, which was increased for the creation of fixed infrastructure assets like bridges, roads, buildings, etc., decreased by 20.51 percent from Rs 20,125.83 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 15,999.71 crore in 2022-23. This drastic curtailment is due to an acute financial crisis. The government is paying the expenses like Orunodoi and such other individual beneficiary schemes from the loan amounts to keep intact the beneficiaries as vote banks for the BJP."

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