Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Thursday said the current state government is facing financial and legal pressures arising from decisions taken by the previous Left Front regime, including bad loans and prolonged litigation.
Speaking at a felicitation programme organised by the Minorities Department for meritorious students, Saha said several loans disbursed through state-run public sector undertakings had turned into non-performing assets.
He alleged that some beneficiaries included close relatives of people who were in power at the time.
The chief minister said he had raised the issue with the central government during a recent visit to New Delhi. He added that the minister in charge of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) department had informed him that loans amounting to around Rs 60–65 crore had become irrecoverable, with no repayments being received.
Saha said the state government is also dealing with legal complications linked to past administrative decisions. “I attended a review meeting of the law department. The concerned officials told me how bad the situation has become. We are losing cases one after another in court because of previous mistakes, and these are creating an additional financial burden on the state exchequer,” he said.
He said the government is required to comply with court orders irrespective of which administration was responsible for earlier policy decisions. Saha added that a fiscal deficit of about Rs 13,000 crore was left behind after the Left Front governed the state for 25 consecutive years.
The chief minister said the current government is working with a different approach despite inherited challenges. “Tripura has made progress in recent years, and steps are being taken to address long-standing issues,” he added.
Saha also said that 1,899 WAKF assets, including mosques, properties, and graveyards, have been identified across the state. He said measures are being taken to restore and utilise these assets for the benefit of religious minorities.
Urging members of the Muslim community to focus on modern education, the chief minister said scientific and technical learning is essential in the era of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
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