Stressing that Andhra Pradesh's fiscal health was fine, Jagan lambasted the Opposition for painting its financial management in poor light.
Published Sep 17, 2022 | 10:10 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 17, 2022 | 10:13 AM
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (Supplied)
Amidst claims by the Opposition that Andhra Pradesh has a whopping debt of ₹8 lakh crore and the current YSRCP government did a majority of the borrowings, data shared by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday, 16 September, in the Assembly showed that the state’s total liabilities and contingent liabilities — including borrowings by state-owned PSUs and corporations — stood at around ₹5 lakh crore.
Stressing that Andhra Pradesh’s economy and fiscal health were absolutely fine, Jagan lambasted the Opposition and its “friendly media” for painting the state’s financial management in poor light.
During a discussion on the state’s finances, Jagan — on Day 2 of the ongoing monsoon sessions — showed a presentation and said Andhra Pradesh was doing better than other states, and that its contribution to India’s GDP had improved while his government was prudent in raising loans.
“A concerted effort is being made by Chandrababu Naidu and his ‘friendly media’ to show the state in dire straits, comparing it to Sri Lanka, while in reality the growth rate of Andhra Pradesh is very rosy and has been very encouraging,” he said.
“Braving Covid-19, we had gone forward balancing welfare and development, and the state’s performance was far better than the previous government — and even the national average,” said the chief minister.
He also gave minute details of the comparative figures on GDP, loans taken, government guarantees and other indices to show the state’s financial management.
As per the data presented in the Assembly, Andhra Pradesh registered a GSDP growth of 5.36 percent in 2018-19, and stood 21st among all the other states in the country.
Jagan said that rank substantially improved to sixth in 2019-20, with the GSDP clocking 6.89 percent.
In 2021-22, Andhra Pradesh’s GSDP further improved by 11.43 percent and it ranked among the top-performing states.
He said the growth in the ranking was due to the policies of the YSRCP government, which gave a much-needed fillip to rural investment and consumption, even during these devastating times of distress.
He also said that owing to his government’s favourable policies, compared with the previous government’s period between 2014 and 2019, there was a higher contribution by Andhra Pradesh to the national income.
According to him, while the state’s GSDP contribution was 4.45 percent during the five-year period of the TDP rule, it stood at 5 percent on average in the last three years under the YSRCP government.
There has been bitter criticism from the Opposition regarding the off-budget borrowings by the current government through various state-owned corporations, for which the state government stood guarantee.
Jagan said such borrowings were far less than under the previous TDP government.
The CAGR at which the state government debt and state-guaranteed PSU debt grew during the TDP government’s five-year rule was 19.55 percent, whereas its growth was 15.46 percent during the three-year period of the YSRCP government ending 31 March, said Jagan.
“The Gang of Four — which follows the principle of plunder, stash, and devour — has started a vicious campaign to defame the government. People of the state need to know the facts that when the budget of the previous and our government is almost the same and the loans we have taken are less than the Chandrababu Naidu regime, why could he not introduce the welfare schemes we are implementing?” he said.
On Day 2 of the Assembly session, TDP members were yet again suspended from the House.
Speaker Tammineni Sitaram termed their behaviour unruly for shouting slogans and gathering at the Speaker’s podium, disrupting the proceedings. He suspended the TDP members for the day.
The state Assembly also passed four bills, including the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Disciplinary Proceedings Tribunal) (Repeal) Bill 2022, by voice vote.
After Question Hour, the Speaker took up the Bills, which were introduced on the opening day.
Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development B Mutyala Naidu moved the Andhra Pradesh Panchyat Raj (Amendment) Bill 2022, which was passed by voice vote.
Minister for Roads and Buildings D Ramalngeswara Rao tabled the Andhra Pradesh Road Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2022, which was also passed by voice vote.
The Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Disciplinary Proceedings Tribunal) (Repeal) Bills 2022, tabled by Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy on behalf of the chief minister, was also passed by voice vote, as was the Andhra Pradesh (Agriculture Produce and Livestock) Markets (Amendment) Bills 2022.
