Yanamala accuses FM of misleading people on APSDCL loans

Mangalagiri: Former minister and TDP politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Friday strongly criticised finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy for 'misleading' the people of Andhra Pradesh on the massive loans of Rs 25,000 core taken by the Jagan Reddy government through the AP State Development Corporation Ltd (APSDCL).

Ramakrishnudu said that the finance minister was deliberately misguiding people by saying that there was no need for government 'guarantees' for the multi-crore loans taken by the APSDCL. It was indeed unthinkable on the part of Rajendranath Reddy to say that the Central government's approvals were not necessary for these loans. Under Article 293(3), the state should mandatorily take Central approval for all budgetary borrowings.

In a statement here, the TDP leader criticised that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has turned AP into a debt-ridden and bankrupt state that was stuck in an irretrievable financial crisis. The state government should have to give guarantees for all loans taken by the corporations. These guarantees should not cross 90 per cent of the state's total revenue. Why did the Jagan government enter into escrow agreements when it was saying there were no guarantees, he asked.

Ramakrishnudu termed it as a serious financial lapse on the part of the state government not to inform the Centre about Rs 77,700 crore loans taken in 2019-`20 and Rs 91,000 crore loans in 2020-`21.

He asked the finance minister whether it was not true that the Centre gave permission for additional 2 per cent loans only on certain conditions. There was a rule that the state's overall loans should not cross 3 per cent as per the FRBM limit. It was clear that the Central approvals were needed for all the loans being taken by AP even if they were through the corporations. Revenue was also going down, he said adding development would be impossible without revenue and loans.