This isn't the first time KCR has targeted the Union government for allegedly discriminating against states and refusing funds for Telangana.
The CM has directed Finance Minister T Harish Rao and Legislative Affairs Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy to take measures for convening the session. (Supplied)
Accusing the BJP-led Union government of imposing unnecessary financial restrictions on the state, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday, 24 November, called a week-long winter session of the state legislature in December to discuss the matter.
“The chief minister decided to convene the legislative session for a week to discuss and inform the people of the state in detail,” read a statement released by his office.
This is not the first time the TRS leader has targeted the Union government for allegedly discriminating against states and refusing funds for Telangana.
The TRS supremo, in August this year, boycotted the meeting of the NITI Aayog’s Governing Council due to the same concern.
According to KCR, the BJP-led Union government had been imposing “unnecessary sanctions” due to which there was a reduction of more than ₹40,000 crore in the revenue collected for the financial year 2022-23.
Unnecessary sanctions imposed by the Union Govt. on fast progressing Telangana State has resulted in the reduction of more than ₹40,000 Cr income in the FY 2022-2023. By such measures, the Union Govt. is obstructing Telangana from moving ahead in the path of development.
— Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) November 24, 2022
The chief minister has reportedly directed Finance Minister T Harish Rao and Legislative Affairs Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy to take measures for convening the session.
Both ministers are expected to discuss the matter with the Council Chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy, Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and concerned officials, who will finalise dates for conducting the legislature.
In line with his constant accusation against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, KCR earlier alleged that the Union government did not release a paisa to Telangana even after the NITI Aayog in 2016 proposed grants — ₹5,000 crore for Mission Kakatiya and ₹19,205 crore for Mission Bhagiratha — for the state’s development schemes.
“The Telangana government has completed both the schemes on its own, ensuring the supply of potable water to every household under the Mission Bhagiratha project,” said KCR.
“It repaired and restored all the minor irrigation tanks in the state under Mission Kakatiya, which greatly benefited people as groundwater levels increased dramatically, boosting the agriculture sector and reviving the rural economy. These examples are sufficient to say that the institution of NITI Aayog is rendered useless,” he added.
The TRS president also accused the Modi government of taking credit for the Mission Bhagiratha project as its flagship scheme — the Jal Jeevan Mission.
The chief minister also felt that states would stand to lose heavily if the Centre continued to derail their growth as it was doing now.
He recalled the states preparing their budget at the beginning of the financial year. To facilitate the states to know to what extent they could go in for borrowings, the Centre announced the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limit.
For 2022-23, the Centre said the loan limit under FRBM was ₹54,000 crore. Telangana accordingly prepared its budget for the year.
However, the Centre suddenly slashed the loan limit to ₹39,000 crore, which led to a shortfall of ₹15,000 crore, the government said in its statement.
The states that maintain fiscal discipline would be allowed to go in for borrowings up to 0.5 percent more than the FRBM limit.
But the Centre has imposed a rider that Telangana, which has sound budget management, has to implement power reforms if it wants to avail the 0.5-percent increase in the loan limit.
The 2022 figures of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as published in a report, placed Telangana at the 11th spot and ahead of several BJP-ruled states for outstanding liabilities.
The annual report, released on 19 November and known as the Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, came even as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman repeatedly alleged that the financial health of Telangana was in dire straits.
According to the report, Telangana’s outstanding liabilities was at ₹3.12 lakh crore at the end of March 2022.
Tamil Nadu had the highest outstanding liabilities at ₹6.59 lakh crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh with ₹6.53 lakh crore, and Maharashtra with ₹6.09 lakh crore.
BJP-ruled states like Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Congress-ruled Rajasthan were also ranked among the top 10 states with the highest liabilities in the country.
(With inputs from Raj Rayasam)
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