In a scathing criticism of the BJP-led NDA government for allegedly cheating Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) in the name of special financial assistance and other forms of support, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said the manner in which issues concerning the State were brushed aside revealed the strong urge of successive governments in Delhi to suppress States.
This is what happened to A.P. as at no point of time did the BJP-led coalition trusted its ally and kept deliberately making a wrong interpretation of issues to escape from its responsibility to implement the A.P. Reorganisation Act (APRA) and sort out other matters concerning the bifurcation-hit State.
“The Central government’s conduct proved that cooperative federalism, including the fiscal space it is supposed to give to States, exists only on paper. Having lost all hope of getting the promised hand-holding, we quit the NDA which showed no signs of remorse for ditching its ally,” he asserted.
Giving his reply to the 2018-19 budget in the Assembly on Friday, Mr. Ramakrishnudu said the Central government cited the waiver of loans taken by farmers and DWCRA groups as a reason for pruning the revenue deficit in blatant disregard of the State’s unquestionable right to implement its own schemes.
Revenue gap
He pointed out that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pegged the revenue deficit at approximately ₹16,000 crore and the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate was around that figure but the Central government came up with its calculation that just ₹138 crore remained to be paid to A.P. Adding insult to injury, the Centre had taken back about ₹350 crore that was credited to bank accounts for various schemes. What the Central government gave towards the special package was a minuscule ₹34 crore.
Of the ₹19,1000-crore budget, ₹50,700 crore was to be given by the Central government but the chances of that money flowing into the State coffers was bleak in the present scenario, the Minister said.
‘Follow U.S. model’
Mr. Ramakrishnudu said the recommendations of Punchhi Commission on Centre-State relations were disregarded in spite of their ratification by the Inter-State Council.
He said the States have been demanding that the Centrally-Sponsored Schemes (CSS) be disbanded on the ground that the Central government would not consult the States before launching them. As a consequence, the States’ fiscal space was compressed as they had to contribute their share whether it was 40 % or 10%.
Citing various other facets of the Centre-State relations, Mr. Ramakrishnudu said in countries such as the U.S., States were fully autonomous as the Centre limited its role to defence and other strategic sectors. Such a federal structure was desirable in India as the instances of Central governments allowing the States to grow on their own were rare.
