Economy improving, debt down, says Sudhir Mungantiwar

Mumbai: Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that Maharashtra’s economy is improving, with its debt burden down from 28.2 per cent to 15 per cent in the last five years even as the state’s income is on the rise constantly.

Mr Mungantiwar said that claims of the state being debt-ridden are false as the government has managed to bring down the debt from 28.2 per cent to 15 per cent in the last five years despite implementation of the seventh pay commission and the farm loan waiver.

As of the end of March, the total debt of the state was Rs 414,411 crore. The debt burden of Maharashtra is less than that of states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, Mr Mungantiwar informed the state Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

On the contrary, the state's income is on a constant rise. In 2011-12, the income was Rs 56,972 crore, which reached Rs 69,777 crore in 2013-14. However by 2018-19, the state's income has risen to Rs 128, 895 in a span of five years, said Mr Mungantiwar while participating in a debate on the state budget in the Assembly.

The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the state, too, has increased from Rs 180,000 crore to Rs 351,000 crore in the last five years, he claimed.

Defending the Jalyukta Shivar water conservation scheme, Mr Mungantiwar said that despite deficient rainfall, food grain production increased by 24 lakh metric tonnes. In 2014, food grain production was 91 lakh metric tonnes, while in 2019, it was 115.70 lakh metric tonnes, he said.