Govt spent only 53 per cent loan amount on capital expenses

Mumbai: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has cautioned the government on the issue of financial discipline related to non-spending of loan amount on capital expenditure. An internal debt of Rs 47,710 crore was raised during 2016-17, out of which, Rs 10,917 crore was used for debt obligations and Rs 23,553 crore for payment of interest. Effectively, the government spent only 53 per cent of the loan amount on capital expenditure, and this percentage has been decreasing over the past five years.

The state government is already facing a financial crunch and the debt burden is increasing. However, a situation has been reached where the government has to take new loans for repayment of earlier loans. As per the CAG report, it is expected that the government should spend the loan amount on capital expenditure. However, the percentage has been reducing every year and now, let alone capital expenditure, 47 per cent has been used to repay earlier loans.