Haryana CM: State better placed fiscally than Punjab, Rajasthan

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 16

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today claimed that Haryana was fiscally better managed than the neighbouring Congress-ruled Punjab and Rajasthan though Covid-19 had taken its toll on the state’s economy. He was replying to a discussion on the Budget estimates for 2021-22 in the Assembly this evening.

Khattar claimed that despite a shortfall in the gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Rs 16,000 crore (from Rs 7.80 lakh crore in 2020-21 to Rs 7.64 lakh crore in 2021-22), Haryana fared much better than the neighbouring states and the Central Government on different fiscal parameters. He said that Haryana’s debt calculated at the percentage of the GSDP was pegged at around 23.27% as compared to Punab’s 41.25% and Rajasthan’s 42.7%. Besides, the state’s fiscal deficit of 2.9% for 2020-21 was much lower than Punjab’s 6.1% and Rajasthan’s 6.2%.

To former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s allegation that the state was headed for a “debt trap”, he said that the state’s debt doubled every five years. “The state’s debt was pegged at around Rs 96,000 crore in 2014-15, which is now nearly Rs 2 lakh crore but it is well within the fiscal parameters set by the Central Government,” he said.

Enhancement issue: New scheme till April

CM Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said the Full and Final Settlement Scheme to resolve the enhancement issue in HSVP sectors would continue till April 30. The scheme was started on March 3 this year. While replying to a calling attention motion of Congress Chief Whip BB Batra, he said a benefit of Rs 31.1 crore had been given to 762 plot holders.