| Calcutta, Feb. 6: The Mamata Banerjee government has set a record in market borrowings, topping the national chart till January 31 and leaping past the previous peak touched by the Left government. Two more months remain in this financial year but the state government has already scooped up Rs 20,523 crore from the market, more than twice what the regime under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had mopped up in a year. Last year, the state had borrowed Rs 9,500 crore. Before this, Bengal's highest-ever market borrowings in a year were in 2009-10 when it borrowed Rs 16,551.91 crore. The new government did inherit a mountain of debt from the Left but the continued reliance on borrowings reflect the Trinamul Congress's reluctance to take hard decisions or convince people such measures are indispensable to shore up revenues. "Such high borrowing reveals that the government has failed to generate revenues on its own. That's indeed a matter of concern," said a city-based economist. Finance minister Amit Mitra, however, cannot solely be blamed for the "borrowing feat" as he took charge on May 20 last year. In April and May, the government — then under the Left — tapped the market to borrow Rs 5,173 crore. But RBI data suggest that the Trinamul government — the staunchest critic of the Left government's borrowing spree — has borrowed Rs 15,350 crore between last June and this January, more than any other state. The coalition government's borrowing blitz began on June 7 when it raised Rs 3,000 crore and followed that up with 11 tranches of Rs 800 to 1,500 crore till the end of January. With around two months left in the financial year, the state can borrow no more than Rs 11 crore from the market. The total market borrowing limit, after the Centre raised the ceiling by Rs 2,706 crore on the basis of loans repaid, stands at Rs 20,534 crore. Asked why the state had to depend so heavily on market borrowings, finance minister Mitra blamed the debt left by the previous government. "On the debt of Rs 2.03 lakh crore left behind by the Left Front government, we have to pay Rs 15,093 crore annually as interest and Rs 5,390 crore as principal repayment. If this was available with the government, a massive revolution would have taken place in social and physical infrastructure," Mitra said today. However, experts in public finance said that the dependence on market borrowing would have been far less had the state government managed to generate resources on its own. Bengal's internal revenue generation in proportion to its gross state domestic product — value of goods and services produced in the state in a year — is the worst among the 17 major states in India. Although the Trinamul government had promised to correct the fiscal imbalance, the borrowings indicate the failure in revenue generation. The government did not levy any new taxes and ran the state without a full-fledged budget for a full financial year. "The situation will worsen further as the government has been on a spending spree…. The salaries and pensions bill will increase by Rs 250 crore a month from the end of this month to pay 10 per cent dearness allowance. Besides, creation of around 2.75 lakh jobs will also have an impact on the state exchequer and the income-expenditure gap will widen," said a senior finance department official. Although the Centre has increased the plan budget for the state from Rs 17,985 crore to Rs 22,214 crore and promised to give more funds to Bengal, it has suggested that the state government find ways to shore up revenue collections. Mitra had targeted tax revenue collection of Rs 27,690 crore for the current fiscal, which is over 30 per cent more compared to the actual collection in the last fiscal year. However, according to finance department estimates, the state has so far recorded around 15 per cent growth. Asked if the state was in any position to reach his target, Mitra declined comment. Mitra criticised Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi for saying that the Centre had already disbursed Rs 8,000 crore under the backward region grants fund (BRGF). "I must confess this (Singhvi's claim) is incorrect. He, perhaps, is ill-informed. Singhvi is mistaken — Rs 8,000 crore was given to Bihar under the BRGF — we have not received one farthing, one paisa yet," said Mitra. "They are project-specific funds (to the tune of Rs 8,756 crore) and the project reports are lying with the Planning Commission. The commission will move them to the Union finance ministry, which will release the funds eventually. To say this was Rs 8,000 crore given to Bengal is wrong. Being a lawyer, he may not be well informed about finances. The debt during the Left rule is the key to the financial crisis. Singhvi didn't address or seem to understand this," he added. | 
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