Connect with us
Sunday,20-April-2025
Breaking News

Maharashtra

Maharashtra finances not robust, but salvageable with ‘discipline’

Published

on

As the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government readies for its third annual Budget (2022-2023) in early March, the focus is again on the state of the state’s finances.

The state has been grappling – ranking among the worst-hit – with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and the series of lockdowns that have played havoc with the economy, revenues and expenditure, and diversion of most resources to the health sector for the masses reeling under the impact of Covid-19.

Till the previous fiscal (2020-2021), the state had notched up a whopping debt of Rs 520,717 crore, mostly comprising unpaid loans and other liabilities.

However, the fiscal deficit percentage vis-a-vis GSDP is 2.1 per cent and the debt stock to GSDP is 19.6 per cent – well within the prescribed limits of 25 per cent, as per the Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement of last year, according to the official data.

“Though appearing huge, the debt figures are an accumulation of the past several years owing to various factors. The average annual addition is in the range of Rs 65,000 cr,” said Dr Ratnakar Mahajan, well-known economic expert and former Executive Chairman, Maharashtra State Planning Board.

Unlike many other states, there are no money-guzzling ‘populist schemes’ operating in Maharashtra – barring one important welfare measure started in Jan/2020 – the affordable meal of ‘Shiv Bhojan Thali’ – which was extended and heavily subsidised after the pandemic lockdowns were imposed in March 2020.

A pet venture of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the ‘Shiv Bhojan Thali’ – on which the state government has spent less than Rs 500 crore in the past 24 months – proved to be a life-saver for the urban-rural poor and the lakhs of migrants on the move in the early days of the lockdown series.

However, officials say the debt has to be serviced without fail every year – which is the expenditure part of the annual budget – but there is scope for being prudent, said an official of the state Finance Ministry, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

The official – requesting anonymity – explained how the two years of the severe pandemic has hit all sectors of the economy, compounded by the economic slowdown, job losses which are now gradually being rolled back, the farm loans waivers, handling a series of natural calamities, shortfall in all types of tax revenues and also the massive amount of GST dues pending from the Centre.

Dr Mahajan said one of the factors responsible for growing fiscal burden in the past was, finances were raised at higher interest rates for shorter periods, like availing loans at 11 per cent for 3 years.

Some governments managed to overcome this by restructuring the old loans at lower rates of interest for longer periods – say, at 8 or 9 per cent for 5 years – which lessened the burden and spread it over the years less painfully.

Besides, whenever any government takes up new or mega-projects, it becomes the responsibility of the next regime to take it forward with adequate budgetary provisions.

Officials said some like the Metrorail may be top priority to reduce traffic congestion but others like the Bullet Train could wait for a while to prevent diverting scarce resources from other critical sectors, especially during the pandemic period.

Nevertheless, Dr Mahajan feels that with ‘safer and cautious decisions” it is very much possible to bring the state’s finances “well on the track” in just two years.

“This was done in the past during the tenure of the former Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde… with certain decisions that helped revive the financial situation and also reduced the state’s debt burden significantly,” he said.

As for the next year’s State Budget (2022-2023), all eyes are on (DCM & FM) Ajit Pawar to see how he juggles with the stretched finances and scarce resources to keep the state afloat amid optimistic signs that it is veering out of the scalding Covid-19 cauldron.

Maharashtra

Congress locks Mumbai ED office, Case registered against Congress workers

Published

on

Mumbai: Mumbai Enforcement Directorate Police have registered a case against 15 to 20 Congress workers for protesting by locking the ED office. The protest was held at the ED office when it was on holiday and the Congress workers locked the already locked office. According to the police, the office was closed during the protest, but a case has been registered against Congress workers and protesters in this case. The protesters also raised anti-government slogans during the protest at the ED office and the protesters said that Modi sends the ED forward whenever he is afraid. Congressmen have continued to protest against the investigation and inclusion of their names in the charge sheet against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case. Congressmen have protested in the same manner, after which a case has been registered. This case was registered by MRA Marg Police and the investigation is ongoing. No one has been arrested in this case, this has been confirmed by local DCP Praveen Kumar. Police have tightened security around the office following the protest.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Waqf Act is a discriminatory law, an attack on democracy… Along with the fight in court, democratic protests will also continue until the law is withdrawn: All India Muslim Personal Labor Board

Published

on

Mumbai: The Mumbai Waqf Act is unfair to minorities and has many flaws. The Waqf Act has been introduced on the basis of bias to deprive Muslims of their rights and it is a law that destroys democracy. Protests against this law will continue until it is withdrawn. The problem of law and order has also arisen due to this law. Under this law, the powers of the state governments have also been taken away. These are the views expressed here today by Jamaat-e-Islami chief Saadatullah Hussaini. He said that the Waqf Act is unfair to Muslims and it is unacceptable.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board spokesperson Qasim Rasool Ilyas said that the law implemented in the Waqf Act was objected to in the JPC. Now this matter is under hearing in the Supreme Court. The court has definitely given temporary relief, but until it is returned, we will continue our legal and democratic fight on it. This is a biased law. There is a separate law for other religions and the Constitution allows us to have religious institutions and worship according to our customs and traditions. An attempt has been made in this act to deprive us of this right. The application of the Waqf Act under the guise of the poor and other backward classes is a fraud and deception. The suspicions that the government has created regarding Waqf are based on complete lies. If the government wants to work to provide rights to the poor and other classes through the Waqf Act, why was the Waqf Development Corporation taken away? Under the guise of the Waqf Act, the government has attacked Indian democracy and the constitution of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and hooliganism is being done. It is being said that this law will have to be accepted. This law will not only affect Muslims but is an attack on the spirit of the constitution. If the Prime Minister is so sympathetic to the poor widows, why did he not give justice to Bilqis Bano? In the Gujarat riots, Ehsan Jafri’s widow Zakia Jafri, a victim seeking justice, reached the grave. What atrocities were committed on Muslims in Gujarat in 11 years, everyone knows that this government does not want to nurture Muslims, but wants to destroy them. The opposition has strongly opposed this bill, but despite this, it was passed. The Waqf Act was passed unanimously in 2013. What was the need to bring this law at that time? When this law was passed, the BJP was also in favor of it. There was no opposition to it. They said that this law is a clear violation of Articles 24, 25, 11, which protect our rights.

Muslim Personal Law Board General Secretary Fazlur Rehman Mujaddidi said that now under the Waqf Act, the waqf will have to prove that he is a Muslim. In this, the JPC has made it a condition to be a practicing Muslim. This is against the law. Earlier it was said that being a Muslim for five years is a condition, but now it will have to be proven that you are a Muslim and practice Islam. Along with this, in case of a dispute, this land will be declared as government land. Misconceptions have been created regarding the Waqf Act and Waqf and these misconceptions have been fueled in social media. It was also spread in the media that the ownership of the waqf is so high and in the Allahabad High Court case, it was said that now the High Court has to go to the Supreme Court for justice in the matter of waqf. This is completely wrong. This was a dispute over a mosque on the road outside the High Court, which Kazmi Sahib had built for worshippers, thus spreading suspicions.

Munsa Bushra Abidi said that Muslim women will be at the forefront of any protest announced by the Muslim Personal Law Board. The government cannot give lollipops to Muslim women because they know the government’s intentions and the drugs. She said that women are involved in all kinds of protests, from bati gul to salaam, and we will continue to protest against this law. Maulana Mahmood Daryabadi, Peace Committee Head Farid Sheikh, and representatives of other religions also participated in this press conference:

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Mumbai human trafficking racket busted, West Bengal and Hyderabad arrested

Published

on

Mumbai: Mumbai Wadala TT Police has claimed to have arrested child human traffickers from Hyderabad, West Bengal in a human trafficking case. According to the details, the complainant Amar Dhirne, 65, a sweeper from Wadala TT Police Station, had filed a missing complaint of his grandson on August 5, 2024. After that, it was found that Anil Purnia, Asma Sheikh, Sharif Sheikh, Asha Pawar had sold the child for Rs 1.60 lakh. After that, a case of human trafficking was registered against the accused Anil Purnia, Asma Sheikh, Sharif Sheikh. The accused Anil Purnia, Asma Sheikh were deported from Mumbai. The accused Asha Pawar was also involved in this. After that, the police started searching for Asha Pawar and arrested her from Hyderabad.

During the police investigation, the accused said that the victim was taken to Bhubaneswar station, Odisha. A woman named Reshma sold it. After technical investigation, it was found that the accused is employed in a dental hospital in Bhubaneswar and works in a high-tech hospital here. But when the police team reached Bhubaneswar, she had quit her job and then it was found that the wanted accused is in West Bengal. After that, the police started searching for her and the police recovered the kidnapped child and three other children. At the same time, Reshma Santosh Kumar Banerjee, 43, was arrested and presented in court. Along with this, the three-year-old child was presented in court and the child was handed over to the police. After completing all the steps, the police got the child medically examined and found signs of injuries on his body. The accused had tortured the child, so a case of cruelty was also registered against the child. This action was taken on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Pansalkar and Special Commissioner Devin Bharti, Additional Commissioner Anil Paraskar and DCP Ragasudha.

Continue Reading

Trending