VIJAYAWADA: Demanding that the State government release a white paper on the financial position of the State, senior TDP leader and former Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu has blamed the “anti-AP policies” of the YSRC regime for the deteriorating financial situation to the extent of non-payment of salaries to the employees in time. Alleging that the thoughtless and uncivilized governance of Jagan was destroying the State as a whole with no sign of hope for the future, Yanamala, in a statement, said the government went bankrupt as it could not mobilize resources to pay salaries now.
Even the private hospital managements stopped admitting patients under Aarogyasri just because their payments were not cleared by the government, he alleged. “Though the revenue has increased compared to the previous year, the government took more loans, pushing the State into a debt trap. The inexperience and ineffectiveness of the Chief Minister are responsible for this. AP stood in the first place by taking Rs 79,191.58 crore loans by February during the 2020-21 fiscal. This is the largest amount of loans taken by any State in the country,” the TDP leader argued.
The revenue from excise duty doubled to reach Rs 10,125.19 crore by February, 2021, compared to Rs 5,821.62 crore in February, 2020. The income from land revenue has also increased from Rs 19.72 crore in February, 2020, to Rs 123.58 crore in February, 2021. The Central grant-in-aid has increased from Rs 16,758.40 crore in February, 2020 to Rs 26,458.60 crore in 2021. The AP Government got Rs 29,109.30 crore additional revenue. Also, huge funds came to the State towards Covid assistance and donations. But still, the YSRC government took Rs 73,812 crore loans in just three months this year,” he said. “In just two years, the YSRC has imposed Rs 2.50 lakh crore debt burden on the State. Each person is carrying now a debt of Rs 70,000 on his or her head,” he alleged.