THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Finance Department has formally requested the Union government to provide details regarding the net borrowing ceiling (NBC) set for the state on open market borrowings (OMBs). This comes as a follow-up to a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday.
“The Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) has written to the Union officials, seeking information on the borrowing plan and calculations used to determine the NBC for the first nine months. Our further course of action will be based on their response,” Finance Minister K N Balagopal told TNIE. He also mentioned that the state is eligible for a larger borrowing amount, and the matter will be raised with the Union government once they have thoroughly examined the calculation sheet.
The borrowing ceiling issue has become contentious following a heated exchange between Balagopal and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan. The latter recently released some data to support his claim that the reduced NBC for the state was meant to account for its off-budget borrowings (OBBs). However, Balagopal stated that the state government has yet to receive the supporting calculation sheet for the NBC.
On Wednesday, Muraleedharan continued the debate on Facebook, posing ten questions to the state minister, including whether the state government sought clarification from the Union government regarding the NBC before making public allegations.
RETIREMENT BENEFITS
Over 10,000 government employees retired on May 31. Despite financial difficulties, the government has committed to disbursing retirement benefits amounting to I1,000- 1,500 crore, according to the finance minister. He emphasised that the government has never defaulted on retirement benefits, even during the past few years of fiscal constraints
‘CM IS UNAWARE OF THE STATE’S BORROWING PLAN’
T’Puram: A day after the state government sent a letter to the centre requesting information on the state’s borrowing plan and calculation table, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan alleged that the Chief Minister is unaware of the situation. Speaking to reporters at Cantonment House on Wednesday, Satheesan maintained that the LDF government is not aware of the borrowing limit and the current developments.
In response to the chief minister’s accusation that the Opposition is colluding with the BJP regarding the fund borrowing issue, he said the Opposition has not commented on the matter because they are also unaware of the details. Regarding the launch of KFON (Kerala Fiber Optic Network), Satheesan said, “KFON is being relaunched at I4.35 crore when the state is facing dire financial difficulties. Is such an expenditure really necessary?”