Reeling under huge debts, the West Bengal government has sought relaxation in its borrowing programme from the Reserve Bank of India.
The state has sought relaxation in borrowing through ways and means facility, which RBI would consult with the central government before taking any decision, said D Subbarao, governor, Reserve Bank of India here today.
Yesterday, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and finance minister Asim Dasgupta held a meeting with the RBI governor in this regard.
“There is a formula that drives the access of state to overdraft ways and means and special ways and means, both in terms of quantum and number of days they can avail this in each quarter. The state government said that they want some relaxation, which we are studying. We have not come back to the state government with a specific response on it,” said Subbarao.
West Bengal is one of the most indebted states in the country.
The state’s debt burden increased to Rs 1,92,000 crore, against Rs 1,48,110 crore in 2008-09 — a rise of about 29 per cent, according to statement by state finance minister Asim Dasgupta at Assembly.
The state’s ratio of debt to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) as on March 2009 stood at 47.67 per cent, compared to 48 per cent in 2008-09.
Around 85 per cent of revenue receipts have to be spent on committed expenditures like salaries, interest payments and subsidies, leaving little room for expenditure on development projects.
