8 hours ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Bengal to borrow Rs 4K cr for 25% DA pay to staff
KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has started preparations to approach the market this week to borrow approximately Rs 4,300 crore to pay the 25% Dearness Allowance (DA) to state government employees and pensioners, following a Supreme Court order issued on May 16.
The state requires around Rs 10,425 crore to comply with the apex court's order by June 27; or else it may face contempt of court proceedings. On the contrary, complying with the order will push the state into a larger debt trap with a total outstanding debt of Rs 7,06,531.61 crore, as per the revised budget estimate for 2024-25.
When the Mamata Banerjee government came into power in May 2011, the state had a total debt of around Rs 1.89 lakh crore. Over the last 14 years, the debt has nearly quadrupled due to inadequate mobilisation of financial resources and a significant jump in expenditure related to various welfare schemes, including 'Kanyashri', and 'Lakshmir Bhandar'.
According to political observers, these schemes paid a huge dividend to Mamata Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress in the electoral politics both in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls by securing most of the women's vote. However, at the same time, these schemes, along with 'Swastha Sathi', somehow depleted the exchequer somehow.
