Former chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh and Bharatiya Janata Party leader IYR Krishna Rao on Tuesday expressed concern over the growing debt burden of the state during the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy regime.
Krishna Rao said the present debt burden on the state had already mounted to over Rs 5 lakh crore, including the borrowings done by the previous Telugu Desam Party government.
“The Jagan government continues to borrow loans left, right and centre and one doesn’t know how long it would depend only on loans. The government should make it clear how much more money it would borrow and how it would repay the loans. It has to have an action plan to repay the loans,” the former chief secretary said.
Stating that Jagan had been indulging in indiscriminate borrowing only to boost up his personal image, Krishna Rao said there was no planning or strategy for the Jagan government on financial management, as a result of which the state has plunged into a deep financial mess.
“If all the loans are spent only on welfare schemes, what about infrastructure development? The government has no money even to repair roads and purchase basic surgical material in the government hospitals. The state cannot match with the Centre in terms of development,” he said.
The retired bureaucrat said 35 per cent of the budgetary allocations would go to salaries and pensions, besides debt servicing.
“In future, there may not be money even to pay salaries,” he warned.
Stating that spending on welfare schemes was not a crime, Krishna Rao said it should not be more than 10 per cent of the total budget.
“The government has no magic wand to do whatever it has promised,” he said.
