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UP’s total outstanding debt shot up by nearly 39% in five years

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The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has been borrowing so heavily from the market that its total outstanding debt has shot up by almost 39 per cent in five years.

However, spending on education declined while spending on health increased only marginally during this period.

What is even more surprising is the fact that in four out of five years, the state government was unable to spend even the full budgeted amount, leading to a revenue surplus.

The full support given to the Yogi Adityanath government by the Narendra Modi government — the so-called ‘double engine’ advantage — also does not seem to have helped, either in terms of finances or in planning.

According to the latest data available with the Reserve Bank of India, which compiles state government finances, the UP government has outstanding liabilities worth as much as Rs 6.5 lakh crore, as estimated in the state Budget for 2021-22.

This is 38.3 per cent more than the Rs 4.7 lakh crore debt it inherited when it took over in 2017.

The bulk of this debt mountain is owed to financial institutions, such as banks. These are called market borrowings and are taken at hefty rates of interest.

According to sources in the state finance department, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on UP government’s finances, released last month, pointed out that of the total public debt at the end of 2019-20, Rs 1.99 lakh crore (or 47.7 per cent of the total) would be payable after seven years.

The CAG report referred to earlier made a shocking revelation.

The state government transferred a princely sum of Rs 71,000 crore from a sinking fund illegitimately to its “non-tax revenue” head in its books in March 2020. By rules, this should have been invested elsewhere.

The CAG roundly criticised this brazen violation, recommending that “the transfers out of the fund (Sinking Fund) are not to be treated as Revenue Receipts and the amount equivalent to loan repaid should be transferred from Sinking Fund to Major Head 8680 (Miscellaneous Government Account) on redemption of debt”.

The effect of this ‘creative’ book-keeping was that revenue receipts were boosted in the books only, there was no cash actually transferred. This is what caused the next year’s revenue surplus.

It is a common feature for some states to end the year with huge unspent amounts from their budgetary allocations. Poor and backward states are particularly prone to this aberrant thinking. And UP is no exception.

Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, four of the five years have seen a revenue surplus adding up to a huge Rs 1.32 lakh crore.

The figure given for 2021-22 is just estimated, presented in the Budget, and the actual amount may be larger. The deficit would have been even bigger but for the illegitimate transfer of sinking fund money to non-tax revenue accounts.

The year 2020-21 was the first year of the Covid pandemic and some extra spending took place. So, the state government ended up actually spending all of its allocated funds, running a small deficit of Rs 13,161 crore.

Despite borrowing Rs 1.8 lakh crore in five years, the state government has ended its term with an accumulated revenue surplus, i.e., unspent funds of Rs 1.32 lakh crore, which indicates bad planning.

Sources said that spending on two crucial sectors – education and health – was important but as a proportion of total revenue expenditure, the share spent on education declined from about 14.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 12.5 per cent in the budget estimates (BE) for the current financial year.

In 2020-21, when students of the state were struggling to keep up with their studies during the pandemic with schools/colleges and hostels closed and online mode was the dominant way of teaching, the state government saved a lot of money when actually more spending was needed to compensate for academic losses being suffered by the students.

In fact, teachers were not paid salaries, staff were denied wages, and mid-day meals were stopped.

Now, with the crucial Assembly elections looming, the government is busy distributing smartphones and tablets.
Even more disturbing is the minuscule increase in the share of health expenditure in total revenue expenditure — from 5.3 per cent in 2017-18 to 5.9 per cent in 2021-22 (BE) — at a time when the pandemic was at its peak.

Reports based on official data show that the healthcare system in UP remained inadequate to deal with the pandemic. All this would have been avoided if more funds had been allocated and applied by the state government.

Entertainment

Mithun Chakraborty’s Wallet Gets Stolen During BJP Roadshow In Jharkhand, Organisers Request Pickpockets To Return It

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Actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty found himself in a sticky situation after his wallet was stolen from his pocket during his mega roadshow in Jharkhand on Tuesday. The actor campaigned for BJP in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, and that is when he got pickpocketed, leaving the organisers red-faced.

A video from the rally has now gone viral in which the organisers and other BJP karyakartas can be heard repeatedly requesting the pickpockets to return the veteran star’s wallet. “Whoever has stolen the wallet, please return it to Mithun Da,” a BJP member was seen urging the crowd.

Despite repeated pleas, the wallet was not returned.

Chakraborty led a massive roadshow in the Nirsa Assembly area of Jharkhand to extend his support to BJP candidate Aparna Sen Gupta. Thousands of people gathered at the venue to catch one glimpse of the star, and it led to major chaos and mismanagement at the spot.

Despite security forces in place, the crowd went out of control and rushed towards the stage to click photos and videos of the actor and see him from up close. It was during this chaos that Chakraborty’s wallet was stolen.

Disappointed by the fiasco, Chakraborty concluded the event sooner than expected and rushed back to safety.

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National News

Ugly Fight Breaks Out Between 2 Groups Of Women As They Hit Each Other With Sticks Over Playing Music In UP’s Baghpat

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A dispute over a seemingly trivial matter escalated into a chaotic clash between two groups of women in Uttar Pradesh’s Doghat on Thursday. 

As per reports, the altercation began over playing music but tensions in the area quickly intensified when two groups of women started thrashing each other with sticks and other objects. 

A video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows around eight to ten women involved in a fierce brawl on a busy street. Bystanders can be seen watching in shock, with some attempting to intervene but retreating due to the intensity of the fight.

Several women were injured in the confrontation, and the footage has sparked outrage on social media. 

Reports suggest that local residents eventually managed to de-escalate the situation, but not before multiple women sustained injuries. 

Doghat police have initiated an investigation based on the video. As per reports, they are currently examining the video footage, and appropriate action will be taken following the investigation.

UP: Two burnt alive in truck collision in Fatehpur

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a truck driver and his helper were burnt alive when two trucks collided and caught fire in the Hussainganj area of Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, police said on Thursday.

The incident occurred around midnight on Wednesday on the Fatehpur-Lucknow road, Additional SP Vijay Shankar Mishra said.

Vinay Shukla (35), the driver of one of the trucks, and his helper, Ramraj Yadav (23), were burnt alive in the blaze. The occupants of the other truck managed to jump out before the fire spread, Mishra added.

Both victims were residents of Kherwa village in the Shivratanganj police station area of Amethi district. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem, Mishra said.

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National News

J&K Assembly: Scuffle Breaks Out After Engineer Rashid’s Brother Shows Article 370 Banner In House

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J&K Assembly: Scuffle Breaks Out After Engineer Rashid's Brother Shows Article 370 Banner In House

Srinagar: The proceedings of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were disrupted after a scuffle broke out in the House between National Conference and BJP MLAs.

According to reports, the House proceedings were briefly adjourned after Engineer Rashid’s brother, MLA Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh, displayed a banner about Article 370, which led to objections from BJP MLA Sunil Sharma.

Irfan Hafeez Lone displayed a banner on the restoration of Article 370 in the J&K Assembly. After a scuffle between Lone and BJP members, the House proceedings were adjourned for 15 minutes. BJP raised concerns over security, questioning how such actions were allowed.

Leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma, stated that under special status, some had built their own “palaces” and even cemeteries. This provoked anger from National Conference (NC) leaders. BJP members began chanting slogans in the House, while NC leaders also responded with their own slogans. The visuals of the incident have surfaced on the internet.

In the viral video, the lawmakers can be seen pushing each other on the floor of the house.

After the House resumed following the scuffle, several opposition MLAs causing disruption were physically removed by marshals and evicted from the Assembly.

Meanwhile, PDP moves a fresh resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly seeking the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A. The BJP opposed the resolution demanding its withdrawal.

Amid uproar, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly has been adjourned till Friday. The UT assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution seeking a dialogue for “restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees” to the Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution was supported by all parties except the BJP.

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