Nalgonda MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy today predicted that Telangana State was heading for a major financial crisis in the next few months and the State Government might not be able to pay salaries and pensions.
He was addressing a series of meetings in different villages of the Huzurnagar constituency in the Suryapet district on the 10th day of the Rachabanda/Rythu Bharosa Yatra on Monday. During his interaction with the farmers and other villagers, he explained the promises made in the Warangal Declaration unveiled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on May 6. In the last 10 days, Uttam Kumar Reddy has covered 64 villages and one municipality spread across three Assembly constituencies in Nalgonda parliamentary segment.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said the TRS Govt might not be left with funds to pay for Rythu Bandhu in the next cropping season as the State’s exchequer was empty. Accusing Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao of mishandling the State’s finances, he said the TRS Govt never adopted a realistic approach to maintaining a balance between the actual revenues and expenditure.
“CM KCR has been making false claims for the last eight years that Telangana has become the richest State in the country. But in reality, Telangana was being pushed into a huge debt trap. To inflate the growth figures, even the loans were shown as income. This was pointed out not only by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) in various reports but was also exposed by the 15th Finance Commission. Instead of taking corrective measures, KCR kept on lying about growth figures. Consequently, the Reserve Bank of India has imposed a ban on Telangana from taking fresh loans in the current financial year,” he added.
Referring to the CAG’s audit figures for the year 2021-22, Uttam Kumar Reddy said the TRS Govt has been using speculative figures in the budget to mislead people. While the TRS Govt estimated the revenues for 2021-22 to be Rs. 1,76,126.94 Crore, the Actuals up to March 2022 were just Rs. 1,27,468.54 Crore. Therefore, a whopping amount of Rs. 48,658 crore was included to inflate the figures and show a high growth rate. Of this, Rs. 47,690 Crore were borrowed at huge interest rates. It shows that the actual revenue of Telangana is around Rs. 80,000 Crore. However, the TRS Govt presented a budget of Rs. 2.45 lakh crore for 2022-23 only to make fake claims of growth and prosperity, he said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said Telangana Govt had proposed to borrow Rs. 52,167 Crore this year for various needs. But the RBI has barred Telangana Govt from borrowing further loans due to its financial mismanagement and a huge burden of loans. He said the State Govt has so far borrowed over Rs 5 lakh crore and that it was already spending over Rs 18,000 crore towards payment of interest and loan installments. He said the RBI’s ban has placed Telangana in a piquant situation. It desperately needs money to finance welfare schemes and run the administration. If the RBI stops Telangana from borrowing more loans, then the State Govt might not have any money to spend on schemes like Rythu Bandhu and other welfare schemes. After the end of the second quarter, the State Government might not even have the money to pay salaries and pensions, he added.
The Congress leader demanded that the Chief Minister convene a meeting with financial experts to find an immediate solution. “It is highly unfortunate that instead of managing the State’s finances in this crisis, CM KCR is completely focused on pursuing his ambition to enter national politics. Instead of saving public money, he is using the State’s exchequer to fund his political trips and other programs,” he said, adding that the financial crisis would impact all sectors, especially agriculture. Therefore, the TRS Govt must take all required measures to avert a crisis. He also urged the Central Govt to intervene to save Telangana from facing a cash crunch.
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