A fortnight after interactions with bureaucrats and taking note of views of people from various walks of life, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis will present the state budget on Thursday. The biggest challenge before Fadnavis, who will present his first budget as finance minister, will be to tackle the state’s biggest ever debt burden and resolve the row over the old pension scheme.
Fourteen lakh employees of state and aided institutions will be on indefinite strike from March 14 if the Shinde-Fadnavis government fails to implement the old pension scheme.
Nearly a decade ago, whileaddressing employees of the power sector in Nashik, Fadnavis had expressed concern over the state’s financial situation. Fadnavis, who had then just taken over the reins of the state, had observed that the day was not far off when his government would have to secure loan from financial institutions for payment of salaries and wages. “I have inherited a debt burden of Rs 3. 35 lakh crore from the CongressNCP government.
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Saturday 28 Dec. 2024
We will have to take stringent measures for impro ving the financial situation,” he had stated.
