The State government has decided to raise ₹2,000 crore State Development Loan through auction of securities on the Reserve Bank of India’s e-Kuber platform on Tuesday.
With the proposed ₹2,000 crore, the open market borrowings (OMBs) during the current quarter reached ₹10,000 crore as against the ₹6,295 crore projected in the tentative calendar of borrowings for the third quarter. The development comes in the light of the government’s decision to start crediting ₹5,000 an acre as investment support for over 15 lakh farmers under the Rythu Bandhu scheme from Tuesday.
Amidst concerns expressed over the State’s financial situation, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced recently that the next instalment of funds will be credited from December 28. The government has credited the first instalment of Rythu Bandhu into the accounts of over 63 lakh farmers totaling to ₹7,508 crore in June. Crediting of the second instalment would take the total expenditure incurred through the scheme for the current fiscal to more than ₹15,000 crore.
Given the financial situation in the State which was adversely affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since last two years, the State government has been depending on OMBs to ensure that farmers receive the amounts without fail. The government has earlier this month raised ₹3,500 crore OMBs in two tranches – ₹2,000 crore on December 21 and ₹1,500 crore on December 7 – taking the total borrowings during the month to ₹5,000 crore.
The government has been crediting the amount to farmers’ accounts twice a year since past three years and with increase of the assistance from ₹4,000 an acre to ₹5,000 an acre has entailed additional expenditure on the State exchequer. The Finance Department officials are said to be under pressure to mobilise resources for the spree of welfare programmes being implemented in the State, including Rythu Bandhu and revised pay scales to employees that entails an additional ₹10,000 crore expenditure.
Coupled with this is the Chief Minister’s announcement on implementation of Dalit Bandhu envisaging promotion of entrepreneurship among dalit families extending a one-time grant of ₹10 lakh each. The scheme was implemented on a pilot basis in Huzurabad constituency and the government recently released ₹250 crore for implementation of Dalit Bandhu on a saturation mode in four selected mandals with SC population.
Following the instructions from the Chief Minister, officials are now said to be working out modalities for ensuring disbursal of grant under Dalit Bandhu to 100 members from each of the 119 assembly constituencies before the end of the current financial year.
