Debt on commmon man alarmingly high in UP

Lucknow,Feb 12(UNI) The financial burden on the common man in Uttar Pradesh has reached an alarming level with each individual in the State owing a debt of over Rs 8,605.

Tabling the budgetary proposals for 2008-09 in assembly today, the state finance minister Lalji Verma said that all possible efforts were being made to minimise the loans on the state.

As per the statistic,the loan on the state was expected to reach Rs 154,875 crore in 2008-09 which is 39.4 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product(GSDP).

With the State population touching around 180 million, the debt on each individual works out to be over Rs 8,605 in 2008-09 which is expected to be Rs 8488 in the current financial year with the total loan of Rs 144,300 crore.

However, for the first time, the GSDP has been brought down below 40 per cent mark of the debt, which was at its high at over 50 per cent in 2004-05. In the year 2004-05 the debt on the state was Rs 121,126 crore which was 50 per cent of the GSDP.

During the coming financial year the debt of borrowings on the State, especially through market loans, is expected to touch Rs 37,960 crore, while it would be around Rs 20567 crore from the central government.

Similarly in an another achievement the government has brought down the fiscal deficit of the state below 3 per cent of the GSDP.

In the 2008-09 budgetary proposals the fiscal deficit is expected to be around Rs 11,698 crore which is 2.98 per cent of the GSDP and in the current financial year the fiscal deficit would be around Rs 10,283 crore, transcoting to 2.98 per cent of the GSDP.

The highest fiscal deficit recorded in the state was in 2003-04 when it was Rs 16,648 crore, 7.4 per cent of the GSDP.

UNI MB SB PBB HT1758