CHANDIGARH, April 24: Punjab is hopeful of wriggling out of its Rs 31,000 cash credit limit (CCL) gap that has been turned into a long-term loan.
Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal said a joint committee under the Union secretary expenditure and with members from the department of banking, food and public distribution is looking at the issue and Punjab is expecting that the issue would be resolved on the principle of shared responsibilities, with the state bearing only one-third of the burden.
Meanwhile, sources said the state was hopeful that the issue could soon be put up before Union finance minister Arun Jaitley. Punjab vigilance bureau has already been asked to conduct a probe into the Rs 31,000-crore alleged scam in food grain procurement in the state.
Earlier this week, chief minister Amarinder Singh had also written separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Ram Vilas Paswan.
The Food Corporation of India has admitted that the amount of value added tax (VAT) paid by the state procurement agencies is to be reimbursed, Punjab has not managed to push its case.
As a result of delay in release of this amount, the state procurement agencies had to borrow to fill the gap for timely authorization of the CCL for the current Rabi marketing season.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
