VIJAYAWADA: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the outstanding public debt of Andhra Pradesh shot up by 35 per cent within two years, between 2015 and 2017 from Rs 1,48,743 crore to Rs 2,01,314 crore. As per the State government’s budget estimates, she said that the outstanding debt and liabilities stood at Rs 2,49,435 crore (as per 2018-19 budget estimates).
In reply to a question by Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday whether the public debt increased manifold in Andhra Pradesh in the last three years, the minister said, “As gleaned from the State’s Finance Accounts of Andhra Pradesh, outstanding public debt has increased by 35 per cent from Rs 1,48,743 crore at the end of March of 2015 to Rs 2,01,314 crore at the end of March of 2017.”
To a sub-question whether the State was allowed additional borrowings over and above the FRBM limits, she replied, “Union government allowed one-time additional borrowing over and above the FRBM limits to enable States to take over liabilities of DISCOMs.”