For farmers’ sop, TS freezes all payments Contractors threaten to stall works

Telangana government has frozen all payments, except salaries of staff and pensions, to adjust `5,000 crore that will be given as farmers’ sop.

Though no official orders were issued by the finance department to stop payments, sources in treasury department have said that they have stopped payments based on oral instructions given by ‘higher ups’.

With this, implementation of infrastructure projects and welfare schemes have been hit. Contractors have stopped works as their bills are pending with the treasury department. Social security pensions, scholarships, fee reimbursement and Aarogyasri have been affected.

The government needs to adjust over `5,000 crore at one go in May for farmers’ sop and has started imposing restrictions on payments from February.

Though imposing restrictions on payments is a common phenomenon before the presentation of Budget every year, it has started much in advance this year. Normally, the state government presents Budget in the second week of March and restrictions on payments will be imposed from midFebruary. However, this time, the restriction started in the first week of January itself.

Instructions were sent to treasury department to not release any payment, except salaries and staff pension. Out of 31 districts, restrictions were first imposed in 10 districts from January and all other districts were covered now in February.

The Telangana government has frozen all payments, except salaries of staff and pensions, to adjust `5,000 crore that will be given as farmers’ sop.

“The government is adopting a strange policy. It had asked the finance department to clear all the bills for payment and send to the treasury,” sources said.

“Simultaneously, it gave instructions to the treasury department not to release payment,” the sources added.

With this, contractors, managements of educational institutions and hospitals who had approached the Treasury for arrears of various projects, fee reimbursement, scholarships, Aarogyasri etc. returned empty-handed.

This has led to confrontation between the staff and contractors who are questioning on their bills being stopped while the finance department had cleared them.

The treasury department expressed its helplessness in this issue citing restrictions from higher-ups.

Contractors have threatened to stall all works if the government fails to clear their bills by February 5.

The government wants to credit over `5,000 crore in banks by April-end so that the first installment of `4,000 per acre for over 72 lakh farmers can be disbursed in May at one go.

Arranging this huge amount is a herculean task given the financial constraints faced by the government with a slew of massive development and welfare schemes being taken up at a cost of over `42,000 crore per year.

The government struggled to clear the `17,500 crore crop loan waiver arrears for 33 lakh farmers.

It took four years to clear the arrears in four installments of `4,250 crore. In this backdrop, arranging `5,000 crore in May for kharif.

The state government is keen to successfully pay `10,000 crore to farmers this year since 2018 is the election year and it wants to achieve this goal even by delaying payment to others.

THE GOVERNMENT wants to credit over `5,000 crore in banks by April-end so that the first installment of `4,000 per acre for over 72 lakh farmers can be disbursed in May at one go.

THE STATE government is keen to successfully pay `10,000 crore to farmers this year since 2018.