Tripura facing 'financial burden' of Rs 11,355 crores due to previous govt, says deputy CM Jishnu Debbarma

Agartala: The BJP-IPFT government is facing a “huge financial burden” due to the previous dispensation’s “failure” in proper planning, Tripura Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Debbarma has said. [caption id=“attachment_4396201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb with Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Debbarma. Facebook@BJP4Tripura[/caption] Debbarma said that the state government is staring at a fiscal deficit of Rs 11,355.53 crore. “The economic condition of the state was reviewed in a meeting on 16 March and it was found that there is a huge load of the financial burden on the new government.” “The new government is facing a fiscal deficit of Rs 11,355.53 crore. It was due to previous government’s failure in proper planning,” Debbarma told reporters on Sunday night. Debbarma, who is also the state’s finance minister, said the total expenditure of Tripura was more than its Budget in the last three financial years, as the previous state government was unable to maintain a balance. Augmentation of revenue, austerity measures to balance expenditure and a proper financial package from the Central government can help Tripura to tide over the crisis, he said. “A total of Rs 1,459.51 crore per year would be required to implement the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission for the state’s employees,” Debbarma added. The BJP-Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura combine had recently scripted history by winning the state Assembly polls with a two-thirds majority, ending 25 years of uninterrupted rule of the CPM-led Left Front in the state. The BJP and IPFT won 43 seats. The elections in 59 seats in the 60-member Assembly were held on 18 February.