The Chhattisgarh government has invested Rs 7,447.77 crore in state-owned companies but has not recovered a single percent of it.
The audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on the state’s finances for the year ended March 31, 2023, has been tabled in the state Assembly.
The report shows that most of the government-owned enterprises in the state are in a very poor condition.
The Chhattisgarh government had invested Rs 7,447.77 crore in 10 statutory companies, 28 public sector undertakings, 21 public limited companies, two rural banks and 1,460 cooperative societies in the state till March 31, 2023.
“During 2022-23, the return on investment was Rs 6.20 crore (0.08 per cent),” the audit watchdog said in the report. However, the government paid interest on its borrowings at an average rate of 6.91 per cent during the same period.
As of March 31, 2023, total investment in 28 state-owned enterprises consisted of 33.79 percent of equity and 66.21 percent of long-term loans.
The long-term borrowings at 28 state-owned enterprises include Rs 977.03 crore provided by the central and state governments and Rs 12,900.87 crore obtained from other sources.
The PSUs’ losses increased to Rs 1,143.10 crore from Rs 433.14 crore in 2020-21.
As compared to the equity (paid up capital plus defaulted loans) of Rs 2,972.81 crore of seven loss-making SOEs, the total net accumulated losses of these SOEs stood at Rs 10,034.72 crore.
This resulted in a decline in the net worth of the PSUs to (-) Rs 7,061.91 crore as on March 31, 2023, the report said.
It added that the equity of five of the 28 PSUs had been completely eroded by accumulated losses and their equity was negative.
The profit earned by 10 of the 20 PSUs was Rs 879.22 crore in 2022-23. This compares with nine PSUs that earned a profit of Rs 540.16 crore in 2020-21.
First print: Jul 28, 2024 | 11:49 PM IST