VISAKHAPATNAM: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s reply in Parliament on AP’s borrowings proved to be a slap on the face of the state’s opposition parties.
The AP opposition has been seeking to corner the state’s YSRC government by levelling allegations of over-borrowing from the Centre and of fiscal indiscipline.
On Monday, Lok Sabha member Raghu Rama Krishna Raju asked the finance minister whether the central government has made an overall assessment of the financial condition of Andhra Pradesh after taking into consideration the various borrowings/debts/loans taken by the state government since May 2019; and whether the Centre sent any communication to the state government after making such an assessment?
In her reply, the finance minister said the state government has enacted the fiscal responsibility and budget management (FRBM) Act, which made the state government responsible for ensuring prudence in fiscal management and fiscal stability by progressive elimination of revenue deficit, reduction in fiscal deficit, prudent debt management consistent with fiscal sustainability and greater transparency in the government’s fiscal operations.
The FRBM Act is monitored by the state legislature.
The Department of Expenditure under the central finance ministry generally follows the fiscal limits mandated by the accepted recommendations of the Finance Commission while exercising the powers to approve borrowings by states under Article 293 (3) of the Constitution, the minister said.
She said the RBI report titled ‘State finances: A study of budgets of 2022-23’, has detailed the total outstanding liabilities of AP at the end of March 2019.
The total outstanding liabilities at the end of 2019 (actual) was ₹2,64,4521 crore; in 2020 (actual) ₹3,07, 671 crore, 2021 (actual) ₹3,53, 021 crore, 2022 (revised estimates) ₹3,93, 718 crore and 2023 (budget estimates) ₹4,42, 442 crore.
In the last four years, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government borrowed only ₹ 1,77,991 crore, she said.
