On Monday, The Assam Assembly passed a bill that will enable the government to raise the borrowing ceiling by 0.50 per cent of the state’s GSDP even as the opposition Congress stressed that the additional funds should be utilized only for capital expenditure and not on any luxurious’ activity.
The Bill was passed by voice vote after Congress refused to withdraw its proposed amendment to it.
Moving the amendment to cap the net borrowing ceiling at 3 per cent of the projected Gross State Domestic Product for the current fiscal, senior Congress MLA Bharat Chandra Narah said the government should be careful about where the additional funds are spent.
Narah, however, criticised the BJP-led government, which has been in power in the state since 2016, for reportedly hiring special flights for the chief minister and the finance minister of the state to fly to New Delhi.
Government meetings are held in five-star hotels. Priests from Uttar Pradesh are flown for festivals. It should curtail such extravagant expenses, Narah said.
AIUDF legislator Aminul Islam moved a similar amendment and said the government should be aware of its repayment capacity before going for more borrowings.
Another Congress legislator Sherman Ali Ahmed asked for assurance from the government that the additional money will be used exclusively to meet capital expenditure requirements and not for revenue expenses.
Supporting Ahmed, Narah questioned who will monitor that the funds would not be spent on luxurious activities’ and refused to withdraw the amendment brought by Congress.
The AIUDF, however, withdrew its amendment and the Bill was later passed by voice vote.
At the beginning of the financial year 2020-21, the state was allowed borrowing permission based on 3.50 per cent of GSDP. The remaining borrowing ceiling of 0.50 per cent of GSDP is earmarked for incremental capital expenditure by the state.
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