MUMBAI: Mahayuti government’s populist pre-poll sops last July had left the state saddled with a massive debt. On Monday, it tabled its first Budget after its landslide win in the assembly polls. It reveals that the state faces the highest debt projection in its history at Rs 9.3 lakh crore and the steepest revenue deficit (gap between income and expenditure) at an estimated Rs 45,891 crores for 25-26.With little financial elbow room, the Budget does not offer new big-ticket schemes. Promises in Mahayuti poll manifesto, including a hike in stipend of its flagship Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 per month and a farm loan waiver, have been kept aside for another day. Instead, the Budget has focused on keeping existing schemes going and in trying to keep its debt and fiscal deficit within prescribed limits.Indeed, the estimated outlay for the Ladki Bahin scheme, whose beneficiaries are being scrutinised and trimmed, is Rs 10,000 crore lower than last year. The estimated allocation is Rs 36,000 crore for Rs 2025-26.Memorial, meals & marksWith local body polls looming, the Budget has hiked the district annual plan by 11% from Rs 18,165 crore to an estimated Rs 20,165 crore. In a gesture towards social justice, it has hiked the proposed scheduled caste component of the annual plan by 42% and the tribal component by an estimated 40%. It proposes new taxes, mainly related to motor vehicles, which are expected to generate revenue of Rs 1,125 crore. It has also hiked stamp duty on certain transactions.The financial strain is apparent in the figures. The debt projection is Rs 2 lakh crore, higher than it was in 2024-25 when the figure was Rs 7.1 lakh crore. It is almost thrice as high as it was a decade ago. Its revenue deficit – the gap between the state’s income and expenditure — is more than twice the estimate last year, which was Rs 20,051 crore.However, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar who controls the finance portfolio, emphasised that the debt and fiscal deficit were within fiscal limits.The state’s fiscal deficit is estimated at 2.76% of its GSDP. Also, the estimated debt is 18.7% of GSDP while the prescribed limit is 25%.The infrastructure projects are mainly ongoing projects for which no fresh outlay has been mentioned.
As debt mounts, Maharashtra cuts Ladki funds, stalls loan waiver | India News
