Borrowings for public good: Etala

Countering the allegations by the Congress and BJP that TS has fallen into a debt trap, finance minister Etala Rajendar on Tuesday said that the state government was making borrowings to take up welfare activities and for development of the state.

Congress and BJP members said in the last 3.5 years, the state debt has doubled and there was `50,000 debt on the head of every newborn in the state. They also alleged that the government was making borrowings so that TRS party workers benefit from the publicity.

During Question Hour Congress MLA T. Jeevan Reddy said at the time of state formation, the total debt of the state was about `65,000 crore, but it has doubled in the last 3.5 years. He said that national average debt growth rate was 33 per cent, while in TS it was 71 per cent.

He said by the end of 2019, the total debt of TS will reach `2 lakh-crore.

Congress MLA Vamsi Chand Reddy said the CAG had in 2016 criticised the financial discipline of the state government. He said that the state government was making borrowings outside the budget and state was falling into a debt trap. BJP MLA G. Kishan Reddy alleged that the state government was setting up the corporations for the purpose of making borrowings.

He said he feared that in future, the state government will have to borrow even for payment of interest.

Responding to this, Mr Rajendar said that the state government’s borrowings were within the limits of FRBM Act. He said that the total debt of the state government, including the `8,000 crore of UDAY bonds, was `1,35,554 crore.

To this, Opposition leader K. Jana Reddy said that the UDAY bonds do not come under the purview of the FRBM Act.