Himachal Pradesh government raises debt to Rs 13,055 crore in 2022-23: CAG

The Himachal Pradesh government has increased its debt burden by raising loans amounting to Rs 13,055 crore during the financial year 2022-23, according to the latest report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Finance Accounts for the mentioned period.

The CAG report, tabled in the Vidhan Sabha by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, highlights that the state's debt has surged from Rs 73,534 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 86,589 crore in 2022-23, encompassing the loans raised in the last quarter of the fiscal year.

Out of the total expenditure of Rs 50,539 crore during the year, more than 50 per cent was allocated towards salaries and pensions. The report notes that expenditures in these categories increased significantly after the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, following the central government's pattern.

Despite the rise in overall spending, the revenue deficit showed a marginal improvement, decreasing from Rs 7,962 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 6,335 crore in 2022-23.

The report points out specific areas of expenditure growth

• Salaries, which stood at Rs 11,641 crore in 2021-22, increased to Rs 15,669 crore in the last financial year due to pay scale revisions.
• Pension payments also witnessed a notable rise, climbing from Rs 6,088 crore to Rs 9,283 crore in 2022-23.

One of the noteworthy observations in the CAG report is the government's failure to submit utilization certificates during the years 2021-22 and 2022-23, despite incurring an expenditure of Rs 4,242 crore. Additionally, subsidies expenditure rose from Rs 1,240 crore to Rs 1,973 crore during this period.

The Himachal Vidhan Sabha concluded its proceedings on Saturday, adjourning sine dine after a five-day session, which included a private member's day. The session witnessed high productivity, with Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania noting that it continued for 33 hours, achieving 132 per cent productivity. A total of 348 starred and 123 unstarred questions were posed during the session, with responses provided for 260 starred and 119 unstarred questions.

(With PTI inputs.)