Gujarat: Staring at a Rs 6,000-cr burden

Gujarat will see an additional burden of nearly Rs 6,000 crore, based on the 23 per cent hike formula.

However, the state government will not be levying any new taxes or increasing existing taxes to recover the same, according to Gujarat finance minister Saurabh Patel. He said the state had paid salaries, allowances and pensions of around Rs 28,000 crore in 2014-15 for 867,000 employees and pensioners.

"When calculated across the board, the additional annual financial burden on Gujarat will come to around Rs 6,000 crore. However, we will study it in detail. The details will come from the central government, which will be studied... Later, a committee headed by the chief minister will take a final decision," Patel added.

According to senior state government officials, the Gujarat government paid salaries and pensions worth Rs 29,000 crore in 2015-16. "We are yet to ascertain the break-up. As for the additional burden, while as of now the calculations are based on 23 per cent rise across all categories, there will be certain anomalies that need to be done away with," said a state government official.