Govt has taken loan of Rs 15,524 cr and repaid Rs 2,733 cr, says VPP president
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 23: The Opposition Voice of the People Party on Friday raised concerns over the state government’s fiscal management, especially with loans it had taken from the open market.
Taking part in the general discussion on the budget in the Assembly, the VPP’s Nongkrem MLA, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said the financial condition of the state is dodgy owing to debts, as reflected in the budget document.
He said page 36 of the budget document reflected the loans taken by the state government from the open market loan and also the floating loans. The loans have doubled in 2024, he added.
Basaiawmoit questioned the government’s ability to repay the loans. “The government took Rs 15,524 crore as loans while the repayment was Rs 2,733 crore,” he said.
“I understand that the state’s revenue is very meagre. The government has to rely largely on loans for the successful implementation of various schemes, projects, and programmes,” he said.
“It has been noticed that the government is taking loans to repay the loans. Going by the observation of the accountant general in the report tabled in the Assembly in 2011 and 2022, we have fallen into a debt trap,” Basaiawmoit said.
The AG observed on page 52 of its report that the overall debt of Meghalaya has increased by 62%.
“I am not saying that the state government should not take loans since I understand it is necessary to supplement the state’s income. I feel we need to identify the projects, programmes, or missions that are less important to invest in for the time being,” he said.
He said the government needs to prioritise when and where it should spend money.
“We need to see if the spending is fruitful or productive. The attempt on his (CM’s) part to justify a large number of political appointees is not acceptable,” Basaiawmoit said.
He said for a revenue-starved state like Meghalaya, even Rs 1 lakh is a huge amount if it does not yield anything positive.
The VPP legislator also said the first concern should be for the interest of the people.
Pointing out that there are three economic bodies or councils (Meghalaya Economic Development Council, Meghalaya Commission on Resource Mobilisation, and Meghalaya Resource and Employment Generation Council), he said these are supposed to be the economic bodies to help and guide the government to frame the economic policies.
“We came to know these councils have not had any meetings in the last five years. But crores of rupees are spent on them. This is a waste of public money,” Basaiawmoit said.
Suggesting some austerity measures to the state government, he said the government should stop unnecessary purchasing of vehicles and avoid unnecessary foreign trips.
He also suggested that the government should take steps to reduce revenue leakages.
The Nongkrem MLA also questioned the extortion along the national highways through toll gates of the district councils, Himas, and even the state government.
Asserting that the government must stop all forms of extortion on the highways, Basaiawmoit said it is the duty of the government to work hard and make concerted efforts to plug revenue leakages.
“There are reports of unidentified people collecting as much as Rs 30,000 from trucks on the highways,” he claimed.
Congress legislator Saleng Sangma also cautioned that the dream of the state government to make Meghalaya a $10 billion economy is a debt trap that is being laid out for the people of the state.
“It is reflected in the budget that if we take so much loan, we will be caught in a debt trap and the dream of a $10 billion economy may be shattered,” he said while adding that in the end, the people have to bear the brunt of the loans in terms of taxes which may even lead to price rise.