Centre forms panel to review ` 31,000 crore loan issue
Friday, 15/09/2017
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Chandigarh : The Central government is believed to have formed a committee to review the issue of Rs 31,000 crore loan of Punjab. The committee has been constituted at the repeated requests of Punjab government. During the previous regime in the state, the Union Government had given its approval to convert Rs 31,000 crore of food grain account into a loan. Punjab has to pay an interest of Rs 3,240 crore annually, with a monthly instalment of Rs 270 crore.
It is a matter of fact that in the amount of Rs 31,000 crore, the principal amount is Rs 12,000 crore and the remaining Rs 18,000 is interest component. Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the interest should be waived off and the burden of the debt should be divided.
The state government is already engaged in arranging funds to fulfil its promise to waiver off loans to the farmers. According to information, Punjab has appealed to the Union Government to divide the burden of loan equally on Food Ministry, banks as well as on Punjab government, because the procurement of wheat and paddy was done for the Central pool and not for Punjab alone. Following the meetings of Amarinder and Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal with Prime Minister Modi and other Ministers, the Centre had agreed to review the case of loan.
Union Food Minster Ram Vilas Paswan had agreed with Punjab on this matter and he had held meeting with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in this regard. It is worth mentioning that Punjab sends 40 per cent of the food grains to the Central pool for the need of the country. When contacted, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said: “Punjab government will take up the loan issue before the review committee effectively. The reason behind the rising of loan is the gap between the actual cost and the provisional cost during the procurement of food grains.”
