Debt-to-GSDP Ratio Down 4% to 44.47% under AAP Regime, Says Punjab FM Cheema

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said the AAP government has brought down the debt-to-GSDP ratio by four percentage points to 44.47 per cent and also claimed it was spending 85 per cent of borrowings on servicing old debt raised by previous SAD-BJP and Congress regimes.

Cheema junked claims of opposition parties who have been targeting the AAP over the rising state debt and blamed the previous governments of pushing the state into the "debt trap".

The FM was speaking to reporters here while highlighting the achievements of his department as the AAP government completes four years in office on March 16.

Comparing the goods and services tax (GST) collections of the AAP government in the past four years with that of the erstwhile Congress regime, Cheema said the state government mobilised tax revenue to the tune of Rs 83,739 crore in the past four years.

He said when the Congress was in power in the state, GST collections were Rs 61,286 crore in five years.

Cheema further said his department mobilised excise revenue to the tune of Rs 37,975 crore in the past four years.

However, during the SAD-BJP and the Congress regimes, the excise revenue stood at Rs 20,545 crore and Rs 27,395 crore, respectively.

On the issue of outstanding debt, Cheema said when the AAP came to power in 2022, the outstanding debt was Rs 3 lakh crore left by previous SAD-BJP and Congress governments.

"By servicing that debt, we have returned 35 per cent of the principal amount and 50 per cent of interest. Of the borrowings we took, 85 per cent was spent on servicing the old debt," Cheema said.

However, he said the AAP government brought down the debt-to gross state domestic product (GSDP) to 44.47 per cent from 48.25 per cent in 2022.

It is a big achievement of the state government, he noted.

Replying to a question, Cheema said Punjab was in a "debt trap" when the SAD-BJP and the Congress were in power.

"We have reduced it (debt to GSDP) by 4 per cent," said the FM.