Govt to take up cash credit for procurement with Centre, RBI

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab cabinet on Monday decided to take up on a priority basis the matter of settlement of legacy accounts regarding the pending cash credit limit (CCL) with the Centre, RBI and SBI.

A decision to this effect was taken here at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. The meeting decided to take up the CCL issue with the central government, the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India “in larger public interest and in view of the state’s financial situation”.

After the meeting, an official spokesperson said the Punjab government, which has “inherited a huge debt legacy” from the previous Akali government, will actively pursue the issue with the Centre.

The CM had last week met Union finance minister Arun Jaitely and demanded that the Centre immediately authorise and release ₹20,683 crore cash credit limit for smooth and timely wheat procurement in the state.

The procurement of wheat in the state is slated to commence on April 1. The state cabinet also approved supplementary grants for the year 2016-17 to be presented before the state assembly during the ongoing session.

It also cleared the proposal for seeking Vote-on-account for 2017-18 in the Vidhan Sabha. The supplementary grants and Voteon-Account are scheduled to be presented in the House on March 29.