"We are hopeful that the 12th Finance Commission would be sympathetic to us, keeping in view that we have yet to recover from the debt of battle of nation we fought against terrorism," says Punjab's Finance Minister Surinder Singla.

Talking to The Tribune here this afternoon, Mr Singla said :"We are certain to get a moratorium on repayment of Special Term Loan. Though there had been two waivers, one each by Dr Manmohan Singh and Mr Inder Kumar Gujral in the past, yet a loan of Rs 3,700 crore is still standing against us.

"The 11th Finance Commission had recommended a moratorium on repayment of this loan. The 12th Finance Commission, we hope, would not only extend the moratorium by another couple of years but also make an enabling clause for the Central Government to consider waiving this loan. Once this is done, this liability would end forever. We had represented our case to the commission very well," he added.

It is also significant that the Finance Commission is providing enabling clause for the Centre to waive this Special Term Loan. It may be recalled here that during the last Lok Sabha elections, a controversy had erupted as former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral maintained that the entire loan had been waived. The Congress had contested the claim, maintaining that only moratorium on repayment had been extended and loan of Rs 3,700 crore still stood in the name of Punjab.

Punjab and some other states, which are revenue deficit, are also hopeful of a special grant so that they get money for infrastructure development and other developmental projects.

''We are also hopeful to get a calamity grant of Rs 900 crore of which our share will be Rs 220 crore. " The Centre would give us Rs 680 crore," says Mr Singla. "It was on our insistence that the Centre changed the definition of draught. Our plea was that though Punjab had a good crop, it was at the cost of our resources. It caused drought of our resources as inspite of failure of rains, farmers used electricity and diesel to keep their fields green.

"The Centre agreed and subsequently the Finance Commission has decided to recommend a calamity grant of Rs 680 crore to us with a riding clause that the state would contribute Rs 220 cr and make this money available to us for use in various developmental projects," said Mr Singla.