Chennai: State public works department minister E V Velu on Thursday said the DMK govt borrowed 2.85 lakh crore, but inherited debt and interest to the tune of 6.45 lakh crore from the previous AIADMK regime.However, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and his allies were misrepresenting facts and were building a narrative as if the DMK govt borrowed huge sums and pushed the state into a debt trap, Velu told the assembly.Velu said the DMK govt took charge in 2021 when the state had a debt of 4.57 lakh crore. The DMK govt had paid 1.85 lakh crore as interest on the debt, resulting in a combined burden of 6.45 lakh crore, he said. Against this, the present govt’s own borrowing was only 2.85 lakh crore, he said, responding to BJP floor leader Nainar Nagenthran’s claim that DMK has mounted a debt load of 5 lakh on every family in the state.Velu termed the opposition’s claims on state debt “untrue” and said the govt borrowed to fund development projects and welfare schemes.He pointed out that the Palaniswami-led administration announced PWD work worth 11,923 crore before leaving office, for which the DMK govt spent 8,560 crore. It also spent 13,898 crore on highways. In addition, 58% of the 4,055 crore required to build the 11 medical colleges announced during the previous regime was also spent by DMK govt, he said. “Are you suggesting we should not launch schemes such as Pudhumai Penn and Naan Mudhalvan or fund projects announced by the previous govt,” Velu asked Nagenthran.
