Delhi govt's debt increased by 7% from 2015-16 to 2019-20 despite revenue surplus: Report

Despite maintaining a revenue surplus, the Delhi government's debt climbed by about 7 per cent in the four years i.e. from 2015-16 to 2019-20, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audit report that was presented in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday, July 05.

According to the CAG report, under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's regime, the debt increased by Rs 2,268.93 crore from Rs 32,497.91 crore at the beginning of 2015-16 to Rs 34,766.84 crore at the end of 2019-20.

Notably, Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia presented the CAG report of the year 2021 on state finances for the year ending March 2020 in front of the Assembly on Tuesday, wherein the audit report on state finances offered a critical analysis of the Government of the NCT of Delhi's annual accounts and the operation of Public Sector Undertakings for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2020.

The report stated that the revenue surplus of the AAP government in Delhi in 2019-20 was Rs 7,499 crore implying that revenue receipts of the government were sufficient to meet the revenue expenditure. However, it noted that the AAP government largely maintained this surplus on account of its employees' pension liabilities being borne by the central government. It further pointed out that the expenditure of the Delhi Police is also borne by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Expenditure on subsidies increased

The CAG report stated that the expenditure of the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi on subsidies increased from Rs1,867.61 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 3,592.94 crore in 2019-20 (92.38 per cent). Compared to the year 2018-19. the expenditure on subsidies in the year 2019-20 was increased by 41.85 per cent. 

It also stated that the financial assistance given to the local bodies and others increased by 7.59 per cent from Rs 15,087.22 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 16,232.97 crore in 2019-20.

Due to investments made in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd., investment in 2019–20 increased by 150 crore over the preceding year. The CAG report stated that while the government paid interest at an average rate of 8.14 per cent on its borrowings during 2019–20, the return on investment was only 0.08 per cent.

Delhi government hikes MLAs' salary

In its 2-day Monsoon season in Delhi Assembly started on July 04, the Kejriwal government tabled and passed a bill to hike the salaries and allowances of MLAs by over per cent. To this, the Congress Delhi unit lashed out at the ruling AAP government and said that the Kejriwal government convened the "special two-day session" of the Assembly to pass bills to hike the salaries, but it did not broach the subject of providing unemployment allowance to the youth, PTI reported.

(Input with PTI)