HYDERABAD: Stating that the previous BRS government created assets with the money it borrowed, former finance minister T Harish Rao disputed the debt figure of Rs 7 lakh presented in the white paper and said that the total debts were only Rs 5 lakh crore.
Participating in the short discussion on state finances in the Assembly, Harish said that the loans raised by the BRS government were spent on capital expenditure. He claimed that the white paper released by the Congress government was prepared by a suspended Andhra Pradesh government officer and another person.
“The government lacks confidence in its officials and took help from outsiders,” alleged Harish. Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu responded by saying that Harish either substantiate them or they would be expunged from the records.
Harish: White paper intended to attack rivals
Harish alleged that the state government “conveniently” presented select figures in the white paper and ignored the development indices. “The white paper was intended to attack political opponents instead of giving a clear picture of state finances,” he alleged.
Harish pointed out that debt to GSDP, State’s Own Tax Revenues (SOTR) and capital expenditure in the last 10 years were not shown in the white paper. “If the government wants to project the state in poor light by releasing the white paper, Telangana would face problems in raising further loans and there would be no takers for state government bonds,” he cautioned.
He said that projecting Telangana as a bankrupt state would be a foolish act. However, Sridhar Babu said that the aim of the government in releasing the white paper was to showcase the poor performance of the BRS government and not to show the state in a bad light.