Vijayawada: Buggana justifies merger of commercial wing with revenue

Vijayawada: In order to club all the revenue earning departments in one department, the commercial tax department was merged into the revenue department, said finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy.

He reviewed the functioning of the commercial taxes department in its office with its officials here on Tuesday.

Later, addressing newspersons, the minister said that he was entrusted with the additional responsibility of the commercial taxes by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. He wanted to discharge the new responsibility more efficiently and in the direction a review meeting was conducted with the officials.

Justifying the merger of the commercial taxes with the revenue, the minister said that the Central government is also doing the same. Anyway, it is important to bring all the revenue earning wings together after the GST was introduced in the country, he added. He was responding to reports in a section of media that a Dalit member of Cabinet, Deputy Chief Minister K Narayana Swamy was snubbed by the Chief Minister by being deprived of revenue earning commercial taxes department which was entrusted to finance minister Rajendranath Reddy. In the past also commercial taxes, stamps and registration departments were under the revenue department and it was nothing new, he said. The finance minister recalled that after YSRCP came to power in the state, he represented the state in the GST Council.

Referring to the GST funds, the minister said that the Centre had released so far Rs 3,274 crore to the state and the arrears of Rs 2,000 crore are yet to be released.

Justifying the government stand on the use of the Governor's name in loan undertakings, the minister said that it is the constitutional power bestowed in the Governor. "The erstwhile governments also did the same thing." Playing down negative comments by CAG on state government's finances, he said it is common to comment on the expenditure of the governments and the state government has been giving clarifications regularly.

The State Development Corporation was formed for the implementation of the welfare schemes and the loans raised through the corporation are being used for implementing Amma Vodi, Rythu Bharosa, Cheyutha, YSR Asara and other schemes, he explained. There is hardly two or three days delay in paying salaries to the government employees and the employees are happy with the government, the minister claimed.

Referring to the hue and cry raised by the Opposition on rising loans, Rajendranath Reddy said that it was common to mortgage land to raise loans.

Special chief secretary Rajat Bhargav, sales tax chief commissioner Ravisankar Narayanan and others participated.