States' cash surplus: Rs 31,000 cr

Maharashtra, Bihar and Harayana net the highest surplus.

For the first time in several years, states are sitting on a large cash surplus estimated at around Rs 31,000 crore on September 10.

According to finance ministry data, Bihar's surplus was Rs 3,600 crore, Maharashtra had a surplus of Rs 3,800 crore and Haryana, Rs 3,200 crore.

Another three states -- Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh -- had a cash surplus of over Rs 2,000 crore each. Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat each had a surplus of over Rs 1,500 crore.

In comparison, on September 12, the Centre had a cash surplus of over Rs 15,000 crore with the Reserve Bank of India. The position is expected to improve after the second installment of advance tax flows in, finance ministry officials said.

Last year, a large number of states, including Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, had used the ways and means advances (WMA) available to them and 13 states did not use the overdraft facility.

Due to an improved cash position now, 22 of the 26 states, which have accounts with the Reserve Bank of India, have not availed of the WMA facility this year, the officials said. Kerala and Assam were two of the four states to have used the facility so far.

Around Rs 8,000 crore of the surplus of the states were on account of a higher devolution of taxes in the wake of the award of the Twelfth Finance Commission. The commission increased the share of states in the sharable pool of central taxes from 29.5 per cent to 30.5 per cent.

The officials said Rs 18,000 crore-Rs 19,000 crore of the surplus were on account of flow of resources from the National Small Savings Fund.

There has been a marginal growth in the small savings collections in the first four months of the current fiscal year. The higher collections during the last quarter of 2004-05 were, however, transferred to states during the first quarter of this fiscal.

Officials said a buoyancy under the value-added tax regime, implemented from April 1 this year, was also responsible for large cash surpluses in some states.

Bihar, which has not put in place a new expenditure mechanism, traditionally maintain a cash surplus as funds are not utilised.