Chandigarh, Aug 1 (PTI) Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday said the state"s GST collections grew 24.15 per cent year-on-year and excise duty increased 41.23 per cent in the first four months of the current fiscal."In four months -- April till July, the GST (goods and services tax) collection in the state jumped by 24.15 per cent," said Cheema while addressing the media here.Sharing details, Cheema said the state"s GST collection from April till July stood at Rs 7,243 crore compared to Rs 5,834 crore mopped up in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.He further said the excise collections registered a growth of 41.23 per cent to Rs 2,741.35 crore during the first four months from Rs 1,941.05 crore in the year-ago period.On outstanding debt, Cheema said the state government repaid debt, including the interest component, amounting to Rs 10,366 crore in these four months.He, however, said the government borrowed Rs 8,100 crore from April to July.On the issue of conversion of Rs 30,584 crore of cash credit limit gap into the long-term loan by the SAD-BJP regime in 2017, Cheema said the AAP government after negotiating with the banks, was able to reduce the interest rate from 8.25 per cent to 7.35 per cent, which will lead to saving of Rs 3,094 crore.Moreover, the loan that was to be paid till September 2034 will now end in October 2033, said the minister.Notably, the CCL gap arose because of the mismatch between cash credit availed for procuring wheat and paddy and foodgrain stocks in the account books of the state procurement agencies since 2004.Replying to a query regarding the GST compensation by the Centre, Cheema said Punjab and other states had requested the Union Finance Minister in the last GST council meeting that the GST compensation may be extended for some more years as the fiscal health of some states is still not sound.The minister said the state government has been putting in its best efforts to increase the state"s revenue as he targeted the previous Congress government for not doing anything for raising revenue and for only remaining dependent on GST compensation.Cheema said the state government gave financial assistance of Rs 525 crore to Punjab State Cooperative Agricultural Bank to bail it out.He further noted that the AAP government was committed to fulfil all its promises made to the people of Punjab. PTI CHS VSD BAL BAL