Himachal's debt Rs.33,884 crore in 2013-14

Himachal Pradesh's debt stood at a whopping Rs.33,884 crore in 2013-14 with the growth of 11 percent over the previous year, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said on Friday.

It said the financial liabilities during this period stood at 41 percent of gross state domestic product and 216 percent of the revenue receipts.

The share of market loans in the total public dept increased from 51.63 percent in 2009-10 to 58.69 percent in 2013-14, said the CAG's report on state finances for the year ending March 31, 2014, tabled in the assembly.

It said maturity amount constituted an average 10.07 percent of the outstanding market loans over the next seven years, with significant pressure on redemption during 2017-18 and 2018-19 at 15.10 percent and 15.49 percent of the outstanding debt, respectively.

The market borrowings increased by 77.14 percent from Rs.7,658 crore in 2009-10 to Rs.13,565 crore in 2013-14.

The CAG said in 2013-14 the government of India directly transferred Rs.1,671 crore to the state without routing through the state budget.

"There is no single agency in the state to monitor the expenditure from these funds," it observed.

The CAG also picked holes in the state's revenue.

It said the total revenue receipts in 2013-14 was Rs.15,711.08 crore compared to Rs.15,598.14 crore in the previous year.

Of this, 44 percent was raised through tax revenue (Rs.5,120.91 crore) and non-tax revenue (Rs.1,784.53 crore).

The balance 56 percent was received from the government of India as the state's share of divisible union taxes (Rs.2,491.53 crore) and grants-in-aid (Rs.6,314.11 crore).

The auditor said there was Rs.212.21 crore under assessment and short levy of sales tax, value added tax in 754 cases in 2013-14.

Tourism, horticulture and hydropower generation are major contributors to the state's economic development.