West Bengal's debt at Rs.82,000 crore: Minister

Kolkata, Aug 21: The cumulative borrowings of West Bengal stand at Rs.82,000 crore since the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress came to power in May 2011, state Finance MinisterAmit Mitra said here on Friday.

However, he said the state's effective borrowing is Rs.6,000 crore as from the total outstanding amount, Rs.76,000 crore has been used up for repayments and interest pay outs.

"It (the debt burden) is a legacy of the erstwhile government that we have to deal with," he said during the FICCI Banking Conclave.

Last year, the state government had made the interest payout alongwith partial loan repayment to the tune of Rs.28,000 crore.

Mitra, however said investments in the state are scaling up and already Rs. 88,000 crore has already been invested or is in the process.

The former secretary general of industry body FICCI also highlighted the improvement in the state's work culture.

"On the day of the last shutdown in the state, we had 94 percent attendance while it is 80 percent on normal days," he said.

The state government had made attendance compulsory in its offices following a shutdown call on August 18 by the Congress.

IANS