Loan blow: Telangana government hunts for avenues to boost income

HYDERABAD: State government officials are currently racking their brains on how to mop up additional financial resources in the wake of the Union Finance Ministry applying the brakes on open market borrowings under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM).

Clarity on whether the Union Finance Ministry will allow Telangana to raise FRBM loans sometime later will emerge this week. In case the Centre does not accord permission, the State government will fall short of a whopping Rs 53,000 crore revenue this financial year.

Thus, the government officials are seriously exploring various options for generating State's Own Revenue (SOR) to continue the welfare schemes such as Dalit Bandhu and Rythu Bandhu. This apart, "committed expenditures" such as salaries are also weighing heavily on their mind.

The plan, according to sources, is to generate an additional Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 crore in this financial year. Officials are focussing on auctioning of government lands, which are not in use. The lands will be auctioned not only in Hyderabad, but also in the districts.

The State government has already increased green tax, life tax and other taxes on vehicles. Some loopholes in the mining sector have been plugged which may also bring in the big bucks. 

Besides, the government officials may also take some decisions to increase excise revenue. With GO 111 having been lifted in 84 villages, the State expects that there will be a boost in land-related activity which will generate additional revenue.