A day after Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy rubbished the allegations made by Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Payyavula Keshav that sums in excess of ₹41,000 crore remained unaccounted for, the latter has asked the government to provide the details of bank loans it has availed.
The TDP leader wrote a a letter to Principal Secretary (Finance) S.S. Rawat in this regard on Wednesday.
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Referring to Mr. Rajendranath’s assertion that the government was ready to provide the information sought by the PAC, Mr. Keshav sought to know whether the Andhra Pradesh Development Corporation had availed any loans? If so, the details thereof.
“Provide the information regarding the loans availed by the Corporation from various banks. Also, furnish a copy of the agreements agreed upon with the banks. What was the government guarantee given to such loans? Also, provide a copy of the information placed before the Assembly regarding the loans and government guarantee,” Mr. Keshav said in his letter.
The TDP leader, however, did not seek any information regarding the ₹41,000 crore.
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Meanwhile, the TDP MLC Ashok Babu said that Finance Minister evaded a straight reply as to ‘why their government had bypassed the treasury account?’.
A war of words has been going on between the government and the Opposition parties over the Principal Accountant General’s letter to the government regarding the expenditure of ₹41,000 crore. Mr. Keshav recently met Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan and submitted a memorandum urging him to take the necessary steps for a full-fledged audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). He alleged that there were no vouchers, receipts and bills for ₹41,043.08 crore spent by the government.
The Finance Minister, however, said that there were records for all expenditure incurred by the government. He even blamed the Comprehensive Financial Management System (CFMS) introduced during the previous TDP government for the ‘confusion’.