If Maharashtra’s debt is divided, each citizen owes ₹72,761

A report by NGO Samarthan also pointed out that the state’s total debt increased by ₹1,02,768 crore last year and is expected to rise further by 92,967 crore in the next year

Mumbai: With the Maharashtra budget revealing an expected state debt of ₹9.32 lakh crore for the financial year ending March 2026, each of Maharashtra’s estimated 128.3 million citizens will carry a debt of ₹72,761 on their heads, according to a report published by Samarthan, an independent organisation that analyses the state budget every year.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis arrives to attend the Budget session of the state Assembly, in Mumbai, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (PTI Photo)(PTI03_11_2025_000275B) (PTI)

The report also pointed out that the state’s total debt increased by ₹1,02,768 crore last year and is expected to rise further by 92,967 crore in the next year, according to the estimations presented in the state budget announced by finance minister Ajit Pawar on Monday.

The state’s debt is increasing rapidly and has doubled in the last eight years, said Rupesh Keer, a member of Samarthan. “Going by the statistics, the state had a debt of ₹4,02,421 crore in 2017-18. In the last fiscal year, 2024-25, the total amount of debt on the state reached ₹8,39,275 crore. This, eventually, is also increasing the average debt on the citizens of the state,” he added.

The interest paid against the debt has also increased to ₹64,659 crore from ₹54,687 last year, the report pointed out. The interest paid is 11.53% of the state’s revenue receipts, according to the figures quoted in the budget document presented on Monday.

Opposition leaders slammed the state government in the upper house of the state legislature on Tuesday over what they said was financial mismanagement. During a debate on the state budget, leader of the opposition in the state legislative council, Ambadas Danve, said, “Maharashtra is spending ₹65,000 crore annually alone as interest against the debt. It raises concerns about the government’s management of public finances.”