Dehradun, Jun 15 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly Yashpal Arya said on Wednesday that the state’s debt burden has doubled in the past five years and advised the government to think of measures to reduce the load rather than increasing it.
“The burden of debts on Uttarakhand has increased at an alarming rate over the past five years, doubling from Rs 35,000 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 70,000 crore in 2022,” Arya said initiating a debate in the assembly on the state’s annual budget.
“The burden of loans on the state which had accumulated to Rs 35,000 crore in 17 years (between the state’s creation in 2000 and 2017) jumped to Rs 70,000 crore in just five years. It is a cause for concern,” he said.
Quoting a Sanskrit couplet to sum up the philosophy of Charvaka, Arya said, “Yavat Jivet Sukham Jivet, Rinam Kritva Ghritam Pivet (As long as you live, live happily; take debt and drink ghee)”, but warned that this approach can be risky.
He said debts and other payment liabilities of the state put together add up to Rs 1.15 lakh crore at present which means every person of the state with a population of 1.10 crore is reeling under a debt of Rs 95,000.
Ironically, Arya was part of the BJP government under whose tenure between 2017 and 2022 the debt burden swelled.
Arya, who is now the Congress MLA from Bajpur and the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, also criticised the state government for setting a new precedent of disclosing in the media the amount of the budget before tabling it in the state assembly.
The budget amount was in circulation in the media even before it was laid on the floor of the house, he alleged, saying some respect towards the sanctity of parliamentary procedures must be shown.
The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday tabled the state’s annual budget of Rs 65,571.49 crore in the assembly. PTI ALM SMN
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