Imphal, June 14: Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed to the State's proposal to convert the dues of Rs 607 crores as soft loans, the SPF Govt will still have to wait for the assured amount until the Budget session of Parliament is over.

Talking to The Sangai Express a well placed source said that the Centre has intimated to the State Govt that the assured loan can be released only after the Budget is passed by Parliament.

The assurance to convert the dues to soft loan was given by the Prime Minister during a meeting with the State Chief Minister at New Delhi some days back.

The message from the Centre has prompted the State Government to seek special financial assistance from New Delhi to enable it to release the pay and pension of its employees and pensioners for the month of May, said the source.

The Union Finance Ministry has started processing the file work to sort out how the dues can be converted to soft loans and release it to the State Government to overcome its fiscal deficit, further said the source.

To help the State over come the current overdraft of Rs 182 crores with the RBI and enable it to release the pay and pensions for the month of May, the State Government has sent a missive to the Centre seeking financial assistance, informed the source further.

As the current overdraft with the RBI stands at about Rs 182 crores, the State Government has approached New Delhi to forward Rs 200 crores to write off the over drift and enable it to pay the pending salaries and pensions, said the source.

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