Manipur begins new financial year with Rs 800 cr burden

IMPHAL, March 31: With the financial year 2000-2001 ending today, the state will be carrying over liabilities of around Rs 800 crore into the next financial year. The state PWD alone is burdened with liabilities of over Rs 120 crore, according to a reliable source in the state finance department. According to the sources, the re-imposition of the RBI's encasements ban four days ago, leading to suspension of government payments, was a major factor resulting in increase of the government's liabilities. The RBI ban was after the state's overdraft with the central bank crossed Rs 400 crore. It may be mentioned here that it was the release of an amount of Rs 100 crore, the first instalment of the Rs 200 crore special package promised by the Centre that enabled the state government to clear its earlier overdraft and pay salaries and pensions for the month of January. Since the monthly salaries and pensions bill is only around Rs 70 crore, the fact that the overdraft with the RBI has shot up again to Rs 400 crore has created suspicion in some quarters that payments other than salaries and pensions were made by the government by means of special sanctions. In this connection, high ranking sources in the finance department disclosed that in addition to payment of salaries and pensions, an amount of Rs 160 crore had to be spent on interest payment on various loans obtained from Centre, and another Rs 50 crore on principal repayment, apart from which other advances had to be adjusted against the state's account. With the state failing to clear the liabilities reflected in the supplementary demands for grants 2000-2001 before the close of the financial year, on account of the re-imposition of the RBI ban, this is likely to create further difficulties in the state's finances. The current year's liabilities will have to be incorporated in the revised estimates of 2001-2002.