Dhanani said state’s debt was Rs 9,153 crore when BJP first came to power in 1995. It went up to Rs 45,300 crore in 2002-03, and has touched Rs 2.21 lakh crore in 2017-18
Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani said on Monday that Gujarat's debt has ballooned over the years due to the state government's financial mismanagement, even as the state was lagging several others in human development indices.
Dhanani was speaking while initiating the general discussion on the state budget for 2018-19.
"The state's debt was Rs 9,153 crore when BJP first came to power in 1995. It went up to Rs 45,300 crore in 2002-03, and has touched Rs 2.21 lakh crore in 2017-18. In the last three years alone, the debt has gone up by Rs 96,000 crore," Dhanani said.
The three-term MLA from Amreli said that the state government had taken loan of Rs 3 lakh crore in the last 15 years, of which Rs 1.81 lakh crore had been used to pay as interest.
"The state government is taking more debts to repay existing debts. This has been going on for the past many years, and has made Gujarat a highly indebted state," he alleged.
Dhanani said that Gujarat's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) had faltered in the last five years, and it had recorded double-digit growth in just one year. He also slammed the government for lower allocation to sectors such as agriculture, health, education and rural development.
"The allocation made by Gujarat for these sectors is lower than the average funds allocated by 19 other states," he said.
The Congress leader also said that the state was lagging in various HDI such as infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, poverty, sex ratio, life expectancy, among others. He said that child sex ratio in the state had declined in the past few years instead of going up. He also criticised the government for rising unemployment due to its failure to create jobs.
OPPN’S CHARGES
- Dhanani said state’s debt was Rs 9,153 crore when BJP first came to power in 1995. It went up to Rs 45,300 crore in 2002-03, and has touched Rs 2.21 lakh crore in 2017-18.
- Gujarat’s GSDP faltered in the last five years, and it had recorded double-digit growth in just one year.
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