For the first time in the last five years, the state government has squared up within days the Rs 100 crore overdraft it had taken from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during Diwali.
The cash-strapped government had to take overdraft to meet the additional Diwali expenses such as the double salary, pension and festival allowances.
However, the government is now on the path of recovery, thanks to the stress on tax collections.
Increased expenditure during the festive season in the form of salary, pension bonus and DA arrears forced the state government to draw an overdraft of Rs 100 crore from the RBI for the first time this fiscal year.
However, government officials said the balance has been squared up within the past three or four days as the government raised its income through taxes and other sources.
The government incurred an additional expenditure of Rs 450 crore during the festival season as it paid double salaries to the employees and another Rs 300 crore in pensions.
It spent Rs 100 crore as DA, which has been revised by four per cent and Rs 400 crore as DA arrears to employees for the past four months.
The government draws overdraft from the RBI after it exhausts its ways and means (WM) funds.
Fixed from time to time in consultation with the state governments, the WM limit for Gujarat is Rs 485 crore.
