Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and sought his personal intervention in the immediate settlement of Rs 31,000 crore for procurement of wheat and paddy.
In his meeting with the finance minister, Singh said the erstwhile state government had failed to take up the matter in the right manner.
The chief minister, who met Jaitley at his official residence, apprised him that the amount of Rs 31,000 crore included Rs 12,000 crore principal sum and a whopping interest of Rs 19,000 crore, adding that the amount has further burdened the already distressed fiscal position of the state.
He also pointed out that the sum was on account of
non-adjustment of accounts for procurement done by state agencies for the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from
2003-2004 onwards.
The senior Congress leader said the state was already facing an annual interest payment liability of Rs 3,240 crore and the total payoff might touch Rs 65,000 crore over a
20-year payment period, which was totally "untenable" for the state.
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Jaitley, meanwhile, assured of getting the matter thoroughly examined and settled expeditiously.
He also asked the Punjab chief minister to send a
high-level team of state officers led by finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal to discuss the entire matter with him.
Singh also met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at his office earlier in the day.
He discussed various security-related issues of Punjab with the home minister.
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