MUMBAI: The Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government on Wednesday announced a ban on creation of posts and said it would fill up vacant posts judiciously to tackle the worst-ever resource crunch. More than 1 lakh of the 19 lakh government posts are lying vacant.

“We had no option but to impose stringent restrictions on the creation of posts and filling up of vacant posts,” a senior bureaucrat told TOI.

Elaborating on the financial condition, he said the debt burden has crossed the Rs 3,33,160 crore mark, while the state is paying Rs 19,929 crore towards pension of retired employees, Rs 27,663 crore as interest on loans and Rs 73,438 crore as salary to 19 lakh odd employees. “Our wage bill increased from Rs 19,882 crore in 2006 to Rs 73,438 crore in 2015, while the debt burden increased from Rs 1,33,722 crore to Rs 3,33,160 crore during the same period. In terms of debt burden, we have achieved the dubious distinction of leading debt-ridden states,’’ he said.

The bureaucrat said successive chief ministers spoke on reducing the cost on establishment, but no critical measures were taken to reduce it; as a result, the wage bill has increased manifold. If fact, none other than Fadnavis himself had stated that the day was not far off when his government will have to borrow from the open market for paying salaries and wages to its employees.

When state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had presented a white paper on the state’s economy during the budget session in April, he had hinted at a ban on recruitment. He had stated that if there was a drastic cut in revenue receipts, it was essential that the cost on establishment too should be reduced accordingly.

Under such circumstances, if there is a freeze on recruitment, it will result in injustice to the new generation and will have an adverse impact on providing services to the common man. “We will have to resolve the issue by dialogue and consensus. We will have to ensure that manpower is utilized properly, so that the service delivery system does not collapse,’’ Mungantiwar had stated.

He had said that when the state government implemented recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission in 2009-10, with retrospective effect from January 1, 2006, it had resulted in an additional financial burden of Rs 18,500 crore on the exchequer, and now the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission are on the cards. “There will be another huge burden on the state exchequer. It will be a tight ropewalk for the CM,’’ the bureaucrat said.