<p>Addressing reporters, he said, the government has decided to borrow Rs 2,800 crore by making a provision in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. <br /><br />Already, the total debt burden on the State is around Rs 75,000 crore against the gross state domestic product of Rs 2.40 lakh crore.<br /><br />The Centre might have given the permission to borrow up to 4 per cent of the GSDP. But the State must ensure that additional borrowing does not upset the fiscal discipline. It is very unlikely that the State would come out of the debt trap if the government continues to borrow recklessly, he warned.<br /><br />Moreover, the government doesn’t seem to be investing the borrowed money on creating capital assets. Instead, it is spending on day-to-day expenses like payment of salaries and office maintenance. <br /><br />The government has not been able to clear pending bills of contractors to the tune of Rs 800 crore. This shows how the State finances have gone haywire, he stated.<br /><br />Lokayukta probe<br /><br />Siddaramaiah said the Congress party is contemplating approaching the Lokayukta with regard to the alleged irregularities in various departments of the government. <br /><br />“This government is not ready to allow Opposition parties to raise any issue in the Legislature. It (the Government) wound up the session hurriedly. So we are planning to lodge a complaint with the Lokayukta seeking a probe,” he added.<br /><br />Criticising the decision to impose load-shedding, Siddaramaiah alleged that the State is facing power crisis due to mismanagement of the power sector. He also demanded that the government should immediately declare all districts that have not received rains so far, as drought affected and immediately take up relief operation.<br /></p>
<p>Addressing reporters, he said, the government has decided to borrow Rs 2,800 crore by making a provision in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. <br /><br />Already, the total debt burden on the State is around Rs 75,000 crore against the gross state domestic product of Rs 2.40 lakh crore.<br /><br />The Centre might have given the permission to borrow up to 4 per cent of the GSDP. But the State must ensure that additional borrowing does not upset the fiscal discipline. It is very unlikely that the State would come out of the debt trap if the government continues to borrow recklessly, he warned.<br /><br />Moreover, the government doesn’t seem to be investing the borrowed money on creating capital assets. Instead, it is spending on day-to-day expenses like payment of salaries and office maintenance. <br /><br />The government has not been able to clear pending bills of contractors to the tune of Rs 800 crore. This shows how the State finances have gone haywire, he stated.<br /><br />Lokayukta probe<br /><br />Siddaramaiah said the Congress party is contemplating approaching the Lokayukta with regard to the alleged irregularities in various departments of the government. <br /><br />“This government is not ready to allow Opposition parties to raise any issue in the Legislature. It (the Government) wound up the session hurriedly. So we are planning to lodge a complaint with the Lokayukta seeking a probe,” he added.<br /><br />Criticising the decision to impose load-shedding, Siddaramaiah alleged that the State is facing power crisis due to mismanagement of the power sector. He also demanded that the government should immediately declare all districts that have not received rains so far, as drought affected and immediately take up relief operation.<br /></p>
