Hyderabad: Telangana’s debt stands at Rs 1.80 lakh crore, according to the Budget 2018-19 tabled in the Legislature on Thursday, on which the government is paying interest of Rs 11,000 crore every year. Servicing the debt is a major burden on the Telangana state government every year. The debt was 16.18 per cent of GSDP in 2015-16 (Rs 93,155 crore) and has in-creased to 21.39 per cent (Rs 1.80 lakh crore) in 2018-19.
The government has allocated Rs 11,891 crore in the Budget this year to pay the interest on these loans. Last year, it had allocated Rs 11,138 crore. Finance minister Etela Rajender defended the loans on Thursday, saying that they were taken to create assets such as irrigation projects, roads, Mission Bhagiratha and so on, which will boost the overall development of the state in the long run.
“We are not misusing the funds mobilised through loans. We are creating assets. We are re-viving the rural economy by distributing lakhs of sheep to Yadavs/ Kuru-mas, releasing lakhs of fingerlings in tanks and reservoirs to provide em-ployment to the fishing community and encouraging hereditary-based professions. This will In turn create wealth for the state and development,” Mr Rajender said. He refuted allegations that the TRS government was pushing Telangana into a debt trap.
"States in India don't have the freedom to secure loans as per their whims and fancies. There is an FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) Act and all states have to follow it. There is no other go. States will be allowed to borrow only up to 3 per cent of GSDP and for a revenue surplus state like Telangana, 3.5 per cent will be allowed. We are securing loans we are eligible for and entitled to and nothing more can be borrowed beyond this level," he said.
He said the loans secured by corporations by taking bank guarantee from state government for which the state government stands guarantor were also within the FRBM norms. "We cannot cross FRBM borrowing limits by setting up corporations. We secured Rs 16,413 crore for irrigation projects, Rs 7,031 crore for Mission Bhagiratha, and Rs 18,094 crore for other projects. All these are used to create assets and for development of the state and not misused as alleged by the Opposition," Mr Rajender stated.
