Total of Rs 3.5L crore repaid to Centre, says Amit Mitra

MP | 15 February 2020 | Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has almost repaid the entire Rs 2 lakh crore along with its interest that the erstwhile Left Front government had taken as debt through bond issues till 2010.

The Trinamool Congress government had to pay a total amount of nearly Rs 3.5 lakh crore including Rs 1.5 lakh crore to the Centre as interest for the Left Front's sovereign debt taken through bond issues till 2010 and it was set to get matured in 10 years' time. So there was heavy repayment burden on the state government.

It may be mentioned that the debt has been cleared by the Mamata Banerjee government after ensuring an overall development of Bengal and increasing allocation of budget for almost every departments of the state government. At the same time, the present government has increased the state's own tax collected three times as that of during the last fiscal of the Left Front government.

While giving detailed information on debt repayment in the state Assembly on Saturday, the state Finance Minister Amit Mita said: "The erstwhile Left Front government had taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh crore through bond issues. Reserve Bank of India auctions these bonds and fixes the rate of interest. The tenure of the bonds was maximum 10 years and it is over. Now, the bonds have matured with almost complete repayment of the loan taken along with the interest in the past 10 years. Let me inform the House that the present government has cleared nearly Rs 2 lakh crore principal and Rs 1.5 lakh crore interest. A total of Rs 3.5 lakh crore has been repaid. We are taking loan mainly for development projects and using a portion of which Rs 3.5 lakh crore has been repaid."

He further stated that the state's own tax collection has gone up three times compared to that of the Left Front regime. In 2010-11, the state's own tax collection stood at Rs 21,128 crore while the same went up to Rs 65,806 crore in 2019-20. The projected state's own tax collection for the financial year 2020-21 is Rs 70,807 crore.

Mitra said that the Mamata Banerjee government has achieved the target of clearing the debt and at the same time also increased the state's own tax collection. "It is something that has been made possible along with debt clearance and mammoth development work undertaken in the state," Mitra added.

While speaking about the increase in allocation of funds in almost all departments of the state government, Mitra informed the House that it has been increased compared that to that of the last fiscal and has gone up by several folds if compared to that of the Left Front rule. He also said the debt GDP ratio during the Left regime in 2010-11 was 40.65 per cent and it has already come down. It will further come down to 32.90 per cent in 2020-21 fiscal.