Alarming signals Debt higher than outlay
Hyderabad: Telangana state’s debt burden has reached an alarming level. State public debt outstanding has been estimated at Rs 1.8 lakh crore which is slightly higher than the total budget outlay of RS 1.74 lakh crore in the new financial year of 2018-19.
As per the official figures projected in the budget 2018-19 proposals presented by state Finance Minsiter E Rajendar in the Assembly on Thursday, the total debt is expected to reach a whopping Rs 1,80,238 crore (21.39 per cent of the state GSDP).
The state’s debt burden in 2017-18 was 1.51 lakh crore and Rs 1.27 lakh crore in 2016-17. It was 93,115 crore in 2015-16. The debt outstanding in 2017-18 was 20.63 per cent of the GSDP, 19.54 per cent in 2016-17 and in 2015-17, it was 16.18 per cent of the GSDP.
The reason for increasing debt burden was that the state government is seeking more open market loans. The government projected the open market loans will increase to Rs 1.38 lakh crore from Rs 1.15 lakh crore in 2017-18. On an average, Telangana government was seeking Rs 30,000 crore open market loans for the last three years. The government was also getting loans from Central government and special securities (small savings) and provident funds.
As on January 1 in 2017-18 financial year, the government mobilised Rs 16,400 crore for irrigation, Rs 7,000 crore under Mission Bhagiratha and Rs 18,000 crore for other purposes from the financial institutions. In all, Rs 41,000 crore debt was added to the state debt outstanding in a 10 months’ period.
Officials said that since the state was facing financial constraints, the government opted to seek more loans through different resources to fulfill the promises and implement the schemes. State Finance minister maintained that the debt burden was within the limits. It was below 25 per cent of the GSDP.
If the debt crossed 25 per cent of the GSDP, state will plunge into severe economic crisis. The government was also maintaining fiscal discipline by maintaining the debt at 10 per cent of the total annual revenue receipts, he added.