Former Chief Secretary and BJP leader I.Y.R. Krishna Rao said one thing that was conspicuous in the Budget presented by Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy was the indiscriminate borrowings that pushed the State to the verge of bankruptcy.
He said in a press release that as per the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, the revenue deficit for nine months in the financial year 2021-22 was ₹45,900 crore whereas it was pegged in the Budget at ₹19,545 crore for the full year (2021-22).
It meant that the government created an ‘artificial revenue deficit’ by showing less expenditure and avoiding bill payments for the three-month period. Consequently, 2022-23 would begin with the carried forward burden of bill payments in addition to the expenditure under other heads, he said.
Mr. Krishna Rao further said the grants from the Central government for 2022-23 were shown to be ₹56,000 crore. For the FY 2021-22, the grants amounted to ₹57,930 crore and, as per the revised estimate for the same year, the grants stood at ₹43,632 crore, which was a reduction of about ₹14,000 crore.
Mr. Krishna Rao said the State government did not respond to a request made by the CAG in March 2021 to furnish information on its debt position. In 2021-22, Telangana had off-budget borrowings of only ₹45,000 crore, but the Andhra Pradesh government’s debt profile was kept under the wraps, Mr. Rao added.
