KAMAREDDY: Unleashing a furious four-pronged attack on the State government, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman found fault with the TRS administration for exceeding the limit of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM), changing the names of the Central schemes, pushing the farmers into a debt trap and transforming the “surplus State” into a “deficit State”.
Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, the Union Finance Minister said that if the off-budget borrowings were included, the Telangana government exceeded the FRBM limit. The debt burden even on every newborn child was Rs 1.25 lakh in the State, the Union Minister said.
Quoting the reports of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), she said that 91.7 per cent of the farmers in the State were in debt. She also quoted the recently released NCRB report and said that Telangana was in the fourth place in the country in farmer suicides.
“The TRS government assured to write off crop loans. But, still, Rs 25,500 crore loans are yet to be waived by the State. If the crop loans are waived by the TRS government as per its assurance, the farmers’ problems would have been resolved by now,” she said. The Union Minister said that that the Centre has every right to question the State government on FRBM loans as per the provisions of the Constitution.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: “If the State government replied to the questions raised by the Centre, then the people will know what is what on debts.”She said that when the Centre raises certain issues on FRBM limit, the State should provide replies with patience. Trying to avoid the questions raised by the Centre or providing indifferent replies was not correct on the part of the State government, she said.
Sitharaman also alleged that the State government changed the names of the Central schemes and implemented them as their own. She said that PM Awas Yojana was a 2BHK scheme, the National Cooperate Development Corporation scheme was sheep distribution, Mana Ooru-Mana Badi scheme was nothing but Samagra Siksha Abhiyan.
She also accused the State government of not implementing the Fasal Bima Yojana, even as the farmers were in debt in the State. For several years, the State did not join in Ayushman Bharat because people would know that the Centre was providing medicare to them, she alleged.
She also blamed the State government for increasing the cost of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme from the initial estimate of Rs 35,000 crore to Rs 1.20 lakh crore. She wanted to know whether the State was lifting the water or lifting the money. “The lifting is doubtful,” she quipped.
Sitharaman also alleged that compensation was not paid for the oustees in several projects, including the Nakkalagandi project. She advised the Chief Minister to concentrate on the State and implement what was assured to the people. Ignoring what he said in the State and touring all over the country with an ambition to become Prime Minister was not correct, she said.
The Union Minister was in Kamareddy as part of the Parliament Pravas Yojana programme. During her three-day tour, she will visit Kamareddy, Yellareddy, Banswada and Jukkal Assembly segments to get feedback on schemes being implemented by the Centre.
Finance Minister’s all-out ATTACK
TRS government failed to implement its assurances
Revenue surplus State transformed into a revenue deficit on
Names of the Central schemes changed and implemented