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Orissa demands withdrawal of bonus, LTA facility

"It is suggested that there shall be no announcement of DA beyond 49 per cent at least for three year and instead of announcing two doses of DA, there should be one dose only after a moratorium of three years starting from 2002-03," Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said at the meeting of CMs on states fiscal situation in New Delhi.

All other benefits like sanction of bonus and leave travel concession should be withdrawn as a matter of national policy, he said adding the state government had already suspended the benefit of leave encashment and LTA this fiscal.

Patnaik also demanded special debt relief measures to tackle the state's high-cost loan of Rs 8289.80 crore (Rs 82.90 billion) carrying an interest of 13 to 14.5 per cent.

"It is suggested that at least 50 per cent of the high cost loan be written off and the balance 50 per cent may be swapped through low cost borrowing," he said adding central government loans should not carry more than 8-10 per cent interest rate.

Orissa had a total debt of over Rs 24,000 crore (Rs 240 billion) as on March 31, 2002, which is more than 61 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product compared to all states' average of 30 per cent.

Stating that the state's own revenues were insufficient to meet the debt-servicing liabilities alone, Patnaik said: "By the end of 2006-07 the debt-servicing liabilities would be nearly Rs 5200 crore (Rs 52 billion) and debt-stock would reach Rs 38,000 crore (Rs 380 billion)."

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