Mangalagiri: TDP Yanamala Ramakrishnudu demands white paper on State finances

Mangalagiri: Former finance minister and TDP senior leader Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Monday blamed the 'anti-AP policies' of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government for the deteriorating financial situation of Andhra Pradesh to the extent of non-payment of salaries in time.

Ramakrishnudu demanded the Chief Minister to explain where all the revenue of the State was going when the government was not in a position to pay the bills towards development works as well as the salaries of its employees. The CM owed an explanation on where the massive loans were spent in the past 22 months and why there was nil development.

In a statement here, the opposition leader in AP Legislative Council said that the thoughtless and uncivilised governance of Jagan Reddy was destroying the State as a whole with no sign of hope for the future.

Was it not a fact that the government went bankrupt as it could not mobilise resources to pay salaries now? Even the private hospital managements stopped admitting patients under Aarogyasri just because their payments were not cleared by the government, he said

Ramakrishnudu said that though the revenue has increased when compared to the previous year, the government went for more loans pushing the state into debts.

The inexperience and ineffectiveness of the CM was responsible for this. AP stood in first place by taking Rs. 79,191.58 crore loans by February during the year 2020-`21. This was the largest amount of loans taken by any state in the country. AP has thus created a record of sorts.

The TDP leader said that the revenue from State excise duty doubled to reach Rs. 10,125.19 crore by February 2021, when compared to Rs. 5,821.62 crore in February 2020. The income from land revenue had also increased from Rs. 19.72 crore in February 2020, to Rs. 123.58 crore in February 2021. The Central grant-in-aid has also increased from Rs. 16,758.40 crore in February 2020 to Rs. 26,458.60 crore in 2021.

Ramakrishnudu pointed out that by all accounts, the AP government got Rs. 29,109.30 crore additional revenue when compared to the previous year. Also, huge funds came to the state towards Covid assistance and donations. But still, the Jagan Reddy government brought Rs 73,812 crore loans in just three months this year.

This has pushed the state economy into doldrums. In just two years, the YSRCP has imposed Rs 2.50 lakh crore debt burden on the state. Each person was now carrying a debt of Rs. 70,000 on his/her head.