TDP Polit Bureau member K. Kala Venkata Rao has accused the State government of violating the constitutional norms and established procedures in mobilising loans and misusing the same in the name of welfare schemes.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr. Venkata Rao said Andhra Pradesh topped the country in availing loans. In the last 25 months, the YSRCP government had borrowed ₹1.49 lakh crore against ₹1.30 lakh crore by the TDP government in five years.
Also, the YSRCP government had given sureties worth ₹60,000 crore for loans taken through various corporations in the last two years, he said.
The government should explain why it was unable to pay salaries and pensions on time and why the economic growth indicators were showing it in poor light, the TDP leader said.
The per capita income had come down from 12.86% during the TDP term to a low of 1.03% by 2020-21, Mr. Venkata Rao said.
The crisis would not have been there had the government made proper use of the loans mobilised, he observed.
The government had violated the limits laid down under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) rules and borrowed ₹9,000 crore additionally per year, he said. The government had also breached the limit set by the Finance Commission that the State’s borrowings should not cross 4% of its GSDP, he said.
