State funded loan waiver all by itself: Deepak Kesarkar

Nagpur: Maharashtra’s minister of state for finance on Monday informed the Council that the entire farm loan waiver scheme was funded by the state, without any help from the Centre. “We didn’t receive a single rupee from the Central government for the loan waiver scheme. The state is spending the money from its treasury,” said finance MoS Deepak Kesarkar.

Mr Kesarkar also highlighted that there has been no cut on spending for other schemes in the state. “We have released money to the departments according to the budget. Infrastructure projects are also underway,” said Mr Kesarkar. However, he also admitted that state is in debt of Rs 4.64 lakh crore, which is highest in the history of the state.

Mr Kesarkar was replying to the questions raised over the funding of the scheme by the state government in the state Council. Replying to a question raised by Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) MLC Jayant Patil on whether the central government is extending any helping hand to the scheme to raise over Rs 34,000 crore for the scheme, Mr Kesarkar said that the Centre is not providing any financial assistance for the scheme and state will be raising the money on its own.

“The government has made the provision of Rs 34,000 crore through supplementary demands; but does the government have that much of money in reality? Is the government planning to avail loan for the same at a time when loan over the state is already on the rise” asked Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Sunil Tatkare.

In his reply, Mr Kesarkar claimed that though the loan amount is on the rise and may touch Rs 4.64 lakh crore, the GSDP of the state allows the amount of be increased to Rs 6.19 lakh crore. “We are within the limits prescribed by the Centre,” he said. Mr Tatkare alleged that a cut of 30 per cent on the money spent on the district planning schemes has proved that the state is in shambles on the economic front.

“We have not enforced any cut and will release the remaining money (30 per cent) whenever required and if earlier targets of expenditure are met with,” said Mr Kesarkar. The Opposition, however, said that the ‘savings’ of the state claimed by the government are in reality the cuts on expenditure and have nothing to do with financial discipline.