Chandigarh, March 7 -- Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday shed light on a critical issue plaguing the state's fiscal landscape - the significant toll taken by servicing legacy debt and settling old liabilities. The repercussions have been profound, with an estimated fiscal erosion of Rs 40,000 crore till now, a staggering sum that could have been channeled into capital infrastructure, development projects, and vital social welfare schemes.
The servicing of legacy debt and settling long standing liabilities, in fact, has the "draining" impact on Punjab's fiscal space. "From April 2022 to December 2023, the Government allocated a substantial Rs 30,370 crore for interest payments linked to legacy debts. Simultaneously, it ...