WARANGAL: “The severe discrepancies pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India are proof enough of a criminal breach of trust by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekar Rao. He must step do-wn from his post of his own accord,” said N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, the president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC). He made a presentation on the irregularities that had taken place during the four years of the TRS’ rule and compared the figures provided by the CAG with the government’s claims, in Hanamkonda, on Thursday.
He said the state government was deceiving the people of the state by saying that it had generated excess revenue, when in fact it had taken out loans.
Mr Reddy said the Chief Minister, in his bid to portray that the state had excess revenue, had taken out more and more loans, which would prove to be a burden on the state in the future. He said the state government had shown debt as income and deficits as excess revenue.
“By quoting manipulated figures, the state government managed to have the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limit raised from 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent. By quoting manipulated figures once again in 2016-17, the state government managed to have it further increased to 4.3 per cent. If the '2,500 crore taken from Hudco and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board work, the FRBM limit may be increased to 4.7 per cent. This is completely irresponsible,” he said.
Mr Reddy said the state was trapped under a debt of 'Rs 2.21 lakh crore. “The outstanding loans amount to Rs 1.8 lakh crore, and the outstanding guarantees amount to Rs 41,000 crore. Every district in the state has a Rs 7,000 crore share in the burden; every mandal, Rs 370 crore; every village, Rs 21 crore; every family, Rs 2.65 lakh; and every individual, Rs 63,142,” he said. The TPCC chief said the KCR government, in its four-year rule, had only managed to make tall promises. He said that all the state government’s schemes, including Mission Kakatiya, Mission Bhagiratha, and three acres of land for Dalits, were mired in irregularities.
“The Central government must prosecute the Chief Minister, the finance minister, the finance secretary, and financial advisors to the government under Section 409 of the IPC for committing criminal breaches of trust. A democratic debate mu-st be conducted on fudged figures, debts, callous expenditure and the future of Telangana. A special Assembly Session must be convened to discuss the findings of the CAG,” Mr Reddy said.
