Sudhir Mungantiwar to visit Gujarat for lessons in fundraising

Mumbai: Intending to raise Rs 34,000 crore for debt-ridden farmers, the Maharashtra government is eyeing fixed deposits of bodies such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco).

Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is going to visit Gujarat on July 11 and 12 to learn about raising money through non-banking finance corporations to collect the loan waiver amount. The Maharashtra government is also worried about its financial position, as it is going to cross debt of Rs 4.13 lakh crore in the current financial year.

The state is in talks with banks to give Rs 8,000 crore per year for four years to raise the loan waiver amount. It is also hoping that non-tax revenue would help the state. “We have thought of five to six different options to raise funds for the loan waiver. We are talking with banks that can give us Rs 8000 per year for four years. We are also hoping to get non-tax revenue. Also, cuts for certain expenditure are inevi-table. One more option is to raise funds through non-banking finance corporations. I am going to Gujarat to learn how the neighbouring state has collected funds this way,” Mr Mungantiwar told The Asian Age.

According to the government sources, various government bodies such as MMRDA, Cidco and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corpora-tion (MIDC) have fixed deposits worth Rs 85,000 to Rs 90,000 crore. The finance department is mulling over either breaking them or keeping them with the state government.  

Mr Mungantiwar said that the state has the capacity to borrow more funds for the waiver. “We are within the limits for borrowing more money. The waiver has been announced and we will take every initiative to raise the funds,” he said.

However, finance department sources said the state has no option but to borrow more money, which will lead to more problems. “The budget estimate for the 2017-18 has already said that the borrowing will touch Rs 4.13 lakh crore. Now, with an additional burden of Rs 34,000 crore, the state will cross the estimate borrowings in this financial year,” an official from the finance department said. The state government had taken loans of Rs 3.71 lakh crore in 2016, Rs 3.2 lakh crore in 2015 and Rs 2.9 lakh crore in 2014.

On Saturday, the state government announced loan waiver of Rs 34,000 crore. Up to Rs 1.5 lakh will be waived off on loans taken between April 1, 2012 and June 30, 2016.