Daunting road ahead for Virbhadra Singh in sixth innings

Blaming the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for the fiscal mess, he said the state's loan liability, where the economy rests mainly on tourism, horticulture and hydropower, is likely to touch Rs.30,000 crore this fiscal.

The chief minister said the cumulative debt liability of the state was around Rs.19,000 crore in 2007-08.

The previous BJP government came to power in December 2007 after defeating the Congress.

"The implementation of financial doles like unemployment allowance of Rs.1,000 per month to all 10ư passouts and graduates whose total family income is less than Rs.200,000 a year is really a tough challenge for the government," said an official, who didn't wish to be identified.

Listing out his priorities, Virbhadra Singh told reporters that his first priority would be to strengthen the public services.

"Improvement in health, education and roads are among the top priorities," the chief minister said.