Assam avails over Rs 800 cr loan

Guwahati, Mar 24: Loan burden in Assam stood at Rs 6,806 per individual against per capita income of Rs 24,828 at current prices, with the state availing total loan of over Rs 800 crore from various outside financing sources.

Informing this in the Assembly today in reply to a question by former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Cabinet Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma said loans taken for developmental projects were in various stages of completion.

Dr Sharma was replying on behalf of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who holds the finance portfolio.

The minister informed that a total of Rs 805.20 crore had been taken by the state government, through the Central government, as loan up to February 2008 from ADB, World Bank, HUDCO, NABARD and GICI.

The highest amount of Rs 485.81 crore had been availed from NABARD for construction of rural roads and bridges, flood control, irrigation and veterinary projects. The loan amount, payable after seven years, had been taken on interest rates varying from 12 per cent to 6.50 per cent.

Dr Sharma also informed that the loans from these institutions were taken for projects under such departments as power, finance, agriculture, PWD, veterinary, fisheries, water resources, irrigation and home. In reply to a separate question, the government informed that the schemes implemented with loans from the ADB and NABARD were in various stages of completion.

Of the schemes funded through ADB loans, the Assam Power Sector Development programme had been completed, while the Assam Power Sector Development project would be over in the fiscal 2008-09.

The ADB AGPRMP programme would be completed by 2009-10, and the ADB AGPRMP project would be over by 2008-09.

In case of NABARD funding, projects under RIDF II to RIDF VI had been completed, while work was on in projects between RIDF VIII to RIDF XII.

UNI