The Uttarakhand government today said it would raise Rs 150 crore through market borrowing to meet rising non-plan expenditure commitments. “We are floating 10-year bonds,” said a top official.
The bonds would be auctioned through the Reserve Bank of India, it was said in a statement. It revealed the present debt position at Rs 15,348 crore, consisting of Rs 6,271 crore in the form of special securities issued to the National Small Savings Fund of the Union government, Rs 7,237 crore on account of state development loans and Rs 1,064 crore of loans from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
The official admitted the government was facing a problem on account of rising expenditure related to salaries and other social commitments made by the chief minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, during the past six months.
Despite objections from the finance department, Nishank had made a string of populous announcements (assembly elections are due soon). These include upgrading 107 junior schools, distributing cheques, increasing pensions and the retirement age of government doctors from 60 to 62 and other heavy subsidies.