HYDERABAD: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) observed that the apportionment of assets and liabilities between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has not been completed even several years after bifurcation of the united Andhra Pradesh. The CAG recommended that the State government may take steps to ascertain the assets and liabilities in remaining Schedule IX institutions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and also take concrete steps for apportionment of capital heads and loans and advances.
As per the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the balances under cumulative capital expenditure, loans and advances, public debt and the balances under public accounts are to be apportioned between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.The status of apportionment as on March 31, 2018 as per the CAG is as follows: From out of balance of Rs 4,083.52 crore available under un-apportioned Small Savings and Provident Fund, an amount of Rs 1,702.01 crore was apportioned to Telangana and Rs 2,381.51 crore was apportioned to AP in 2017-18. The Reserve Funds were also apportioned.
An amount of Rs 1,51,349.67 crore under Capital Heads and an amount of Rs 28,099.68 crore under Loans and advances was, however, yet to be apportioned even after more than four years of State Re-organisation. Major amounts under Capital Head pertain to major irrigation (Rs 87,707.44 crore) and Roads and Bridges (Rs 17,182.87 crore). The major amount under loans and advances pertain to loans for housing (Rs 13,182.17 crore). As per Schedule IX of AP Re-organisation Act, a total of 91 institutions including companies and corporations were to be de-merged.
An expert committee was constituted in May 2014 to give recommendations on the de-merger proposals of these institutions. The committee has given its recommendations for de-merger in respect of 86 institutions. The AP government accepted the recommendations for de-merger in respect of 40 institutions. The Telangana government did not accept recommendations, except in respect of two institutions.
Out of the above 91 institutions, the Telangana government obtained information with regards to assets and liabilities in respect of only 62 institutions. The cash balance as on June 2, 2014 (the date of coming into force of State Re-organisation Act) in these 62 institutions was Rs 3,189.26 crore. The details of the remaining were not furnished by the Telangana government and apportionment of assets and liabilities between AP and Telangana was not completed even after four years (till March, 2018).
TS’ dependency on WMA on the rise
The State government’s dependency on Ways and Means Advances (WMA) has been increasing from 2016-17, the CAG report indicated. The government maintained the mandatory minimum daily cash balance of Rs 1.38 crore with RBI for only 161 days in 2017-18 financial year without taking Special Drawing Facility (SDF) or WMA or Overdrafts (OD). For 204 days, the government depended on SDF (for 204 days, Rs 11,278.42 crore), WMA (for 127 days, Rs 10,878.46 cr) and OD (for 7 days, Rs 764.89 crore) for maintaining the minimum balance with RBI. In monetary terms, however, SDF/WMA/OD increased by Rs 10,834 crore in 2017-18, 90% more than in 2016-17, indicating govt’s increasing dependency on WMA
TS failed to contribute to GRF and CSF
The CAG picked holes in
the State government’s attitude in not contributing anything to the Guarantee Redemption Fund (GRF) and Consolidated Sinking Fund (CSF). The total available balance in GRF as of March 2018 was Rs 586.65 crore. This was only 1.46 per cent of the outstanding amount of guarantees (Rs 41,892 crore) as against the targeted three per cent. The government was required to make annual contributions to the Sinking Fund at 0.5 per cent of the outstanding liabilities at the end of the previous financial year. The government contributed Rs 384.93 crore in 2015-16. But the aggregate shortfall of contribution for 2016-18 was Rs 1,163 crore (Rs 489.96 cr in 2016-17 and Rs 673.69 cr in 2017-18)