Assam govt's outstanding debt rises 107% in 5 years from FY19: CAG

The Assam government's outstanding debt increased by over 107 per cent from 2018-19 to 2022-23 with the growth rate of outstanding liability also rising during the period, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report said on Friday.

The report for the 2022-23 fiscal, which was tabled in the assembly, noted that the capital expenditure by the state government decreased by over 20 per cent in FY'23 as compared to 2021-22.

The outstanding debt of the state "rapidly increased by 107.34 per cent from Rs 59,425.61 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,23,214.80 crore in 2022-23", the report said, adding that the growth rate of outstanding liability also increased from 20.60 per cent in 2018-19 to 23.32 per cent in 2022-23.

The outstanding liabilities-GSDP ratio also rose from 19.21 per cent in 2018-19 to 24.98 per cent in FY'23 due to increased borrowings from the open market, the auditor said.

The public debt constituted 81.98 per cent of the total borrowing at the end of 2022-23.

During the year, it grew by 26.15 per cent, the second highest in the last five-year period, according to CAG.

The average growth rate of public debt at 23.92 per cent also outpaced that of GSDP (11.91 per cent) during the year.

"These all indicate that there would be increased pressure on interest payment on public debt in the forthcoming years," the report added.

The auditor said capital expenditure, which is incurred for creation of fixed infrastructure assets such as roads and buildings, decreased by 20.51 per cent from Rs 20,125.83 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 15,999.71 crore in 2022-23.

Revenue expenditure in 2022-23 was Rs 101,814.65 crore, constituting 84.88 per cent of the total expenditure of Rs 1,19,952.20 crore, the report said.

There was a misclassification of Rs 6,668.99 crore as grants-in-aid given by the state government to different bodies or individual entities were classified as capital expenditure instead of revenue expenditure, resulting in an overstatement of capex.

Committed expenditure of the government, like salary, pensions and interest payments, also increased steadily by Rs 16,548.72 crore during the five years of 2018-23.

The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), however, grew from Rs 3.09 trillion in 2018-19 to Rs 4.93 trillion in 2022-23, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.27 per cent.

The state could achieve a revenue surplus in only two years in the period between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

The state was successful in containing the fiscal deficit below the target under the Assam Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (AFRBM) Act in two years in the five years under review.