FM promises white paper on borrowings

 Vijayawada: Finance minister Payyavula Keshav announced that the state government will release a white paper detailing the borrowings made by the state since 2014. The announcement came in response to questions raised by Legislative Council members Tumati Madhava Rao, Dr P Ravindra Babu, and Lella Appireddy on Thursday. The members sought clarity on the total borrowings by the government and public sector undertakings as of June 2014, between 2014-19, and from 2019 to the present. They also requested details on the purposes for which these funds were utilised.

During the debate, Madhava Rao pointed to contradictory statements made by TDP leaders regarding the YSRCP government’s borrowings. He accused TDP leaders of making inconsistent claims, alleging that the YSRCP government had taken loans ranging from Rs 12 lakh crore to Rs. 14 lakh crore on different occasions, which, he argued, damaged the government’s reputation. He clarified that the YSRCP government had borrowed Rs 3.4 lakh crore, of which Rs 2.7 lakh crore was directly transferred to citizens under the Direct Benefit Transfer schemes. He also noted that the YSRCP government had cleared pending dues from the previous TDP administration.

The YSRCP member further pointed out that the Governor’s speech had mentioned borrowings of Rs 10 lakh crore under the YSRCP government. Echoing the demand for transparency, Leader of the Opposition Botcha Satyanarayana called for the release of a white paper on state borrowings since 2014.

In response, finance minister Keshav confirmed that the government would publish a white paper on the borrowings. He stated that the YSRCP government had utilised funds from employee schemes such as the DPF and civil deposits. Keshav emphasised that the current coalition government is now responsible for repaying these loans and reimbursing the employee funds used by the previous administration. He reminded that a white paper released by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, said that Rs 9.7 lakh crore was taken in loans during the YSRCP government’s tenure.

Regarding borrowings under the NDA coalition rule, Keshav disclosed that the government had taken loans worth Rs 44,126 crore, which were allocated to address fiscal deficits, interest payments, capital expenditures, and revenue expenditures. He clarified that the YSRCP government’s borrowings included both direct loans and those taken by state corporations.

Opposition leader Satyanarayana reiterated the lack of clarity surrounding the statements by the coalition government on YSRCP government’s borrowings and pressed for the release of the white paper to ensure transparency and accountability.