By the end of the next fiscal, the total accumulated debt of Bengal is estimated to shoot up to a staggering Rs 6.48 lakh crore, a jump of about 10.5 per cent compared to the revised estimates of the current financial year.

That debt figure would be more than three times the state’s estimated total revenue of about Rs 2.14 lakh crore which it has budgeted for the same period. The state would have to pay about Rs 73,304 crore towards servicing existing loans next year, which is more than a third of its total estimated earnings during that time.

These were the numbers that stood out as Bengal finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya tabled the state budget in Bengal Assembly on Wednesday and made multiple proposals for allocating funds for social welfare, infrastructure, MLA allocations and tax relief for citizens.

As an after thought, prodded by chief minister Mamata Banerjee who passed on a slip of paper to her while she spoke, the finance minister also announced an additional 3 per cent DA (dearness allowance) for state government employees effective next month.

Wednesday's announcement of the budget came in the wake of rural elections scheduled to be announced in Bengal soon.

But what seemed to have popped up as a significant “omission” from the finance minister’s budget speech, which Banerjee described as an “employment oriented budget”, was the absence of a mention of the Tajpur deep sea port project which is scheduled to be developed by the Adani Group at an estimated investment of Rs 25,000 crore and which the Trinamul government has claimed would generate direct employment for 25,000 people.

In October last year during the state’s "Bijaya Sammilani" event at Eco Park in New Town, government had handed over the Letter of Award to Karan Adani, CEO, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), in the presence of Banerjee and other senior ministers and bureaucrats. According to company communications, APSEZ was awarded the project on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.

Drawing attention to the “omission”, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari jibed: “Dal mein kuchh kala hai kya?”. He, however, stopped short of drawing direct reference to the Adani Group running into rough waters in the aftermath of the Hindenberg report.

In her bid to justify the government’s “effort to enable an ecosystem for investment opportunities”, the finance minister drew examples from rising deployment of credit in the MSME sector, job creations in the Bantala leather hub, streamlining of the logistics sector in the state, development of industrial and economic corridors and the investment and employment opportunities in the Deocha Pachami coal mining project. Asked why she never mentioned Tajpur, Bhattacharya said: “What I have mentioned and what I have not mentioned doesn’t carry any sense to what you are intending to focus on. Whatever is there, is there and whatever will be done in future, we will look into it.”

Asked whether she was concerned about the recent developments with the Adani Group, Bhattacharya said: “You have to ask the central government about those developments. We will be doing whatever we have to do and you’ll see that getting reflected in the future.” “Every project in Bengal is on track, nothing is outside the track,” she stressed.

Among the significant budget announcements was the FM’s proposal to continue Lakshmir Bhandar support beyond the age of 60 to the 1.88 crore women in the state by extending a monthly financial support of Rs 1,000 as a way of “automatic transition to Old Age Pension Scheme”. The minister proposed allocations of Rs 3,000 crore for rural road development scheme under a new “Rastashree” project, Rs 350 crore for ‘Bhavishyat Credit Card’ for youth, Rs 30 crore fishermen death benefit scheme and increasing the annual allocations of MLAs for local area development works from the existing Rs 60 lakhs to Rs 70 lakhs.

The schemes are over and above the 13 social welfare schemes which the state already runs for various groups of beneficiaries. The total allocation from the state exchequer for these existing schemes for the upcoming fiscal is Rs 34,589.14 crore, figures from the state finance department stated.

Asked whether the state had concerns over the rising debt burden, the finance minister said: “There is a concern but you have to understand where this has originated from. We were already under a debt burden from the previous Left dispensation and that is the legacy we are carrying. On top of that, we are being denied funds by the Centre. But we know how to tackle those challenges, our chief minister knows how to handle them. We are a financially disciplined government and we will find a way out.”

Lauding the budget as “one which is fiscally disciplined and focused on people’s issues”, the state’s chief economic advisor Dr Amit Mitra said: “The state has better figures compared to the Centre in terms of both fiscal and revenue deficits. The accumulated debt of the state as compared to its GSDP is also much healthier compared to the debt-GDP ratio of the Centre.”

“The budget has significantly enhanced allocation in support for social development, agriculture and allied activities, development of physical infrastructure, health, education, rural development, energy and industry. It focuses on all-round development of the state,” he added.

Suvendu Adhikari, on the other hand, called the budget a “sloppy effort to hide the state’s economic bankruptcy”. “The budget fails to address the burning issue of unemployment in Bengal. There were no efforts to solve daily issues like Swastha Sathi cards being dishonoured outside the state. The fact that the DA announcement was not part of the budget speech establishes there’s only one post in the Trinamul Congress while the rest are only lamp posts. It was a desperate measure to save the state’s face ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on DA next month."

“I urge the contractors not to participate in the tender bidding process for the Rastashree scheme until they have received their previous dues,” he added.

BJP MLA and economist Ashok Lahiri said: “The budget affirms that this is a government of announcements. The state failed to distinguish between the budget which is an annual financial statement and an election manifesto.”