EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 7: The cash-starved state's precarious finances have deteriorated further with liabilities crossing the whopping Rs 24,275 cr mark.
This constitutes 70 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) and includes public debt.
This has been stated by principal accountant general (PAG) DJ Bhadra in his report on the review of state government's accounts.
"Liabilities of the state government increased by Rs 2,920 cr from Rs 21,355 cr in 2007-08 to Rs 24,757 cr during 2008-09," the report said.
Public debt also increased by Rs 2,245 cr from Rs 14,226 to Rs 16,471 cr, it added.
Taking a dig at the state government, the PAG report further said, "No law has been passed by the state legislature under Article 293 of the constitution, laying down the limits within which the government may borrow on the security of the consolidated fund of the state."
Elaborating further, it said that the total liabilities in 2004-05 amounted to Rs 14,189 cr, which further went up to Rs 16,790 cr in 2005-06 and Rs 18,591 cr in 2006-07.
"The total liabilities of Rs 24,575 cr in 2008-09 constitutes 70 percent of the GSDP, at Rs 34,805 cr," the report said.
The percentage of total liabilities increased from 58 per cent of the GSDP in 2004-05 to 63 per cent in 2005-06, and later, 64 per cent in 2006-07 to 67 per cent in 2007-08. Rs 7,414.58 cr was the total debt in 2001-2002, which shot up to Rs 16,471 cr in 2008-09. The internal debt has shot up from Rs 3,032.29 cr in 2000-01 to Rs 13,335.73 cr at present.
However, the outstanding debt through loans from the government went down from Rs 4,382.29 cr in 2000-01 to Rs 3,135 cr in 2008-09.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has paid Rs 11,407 cr as interest in the past eight years, from 2000-01 to 2008-09.
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