Eatala rebuts opposition charges on funds

 Hyderabad: Finance Minister Eatala Rajender on Tuesday refuted the allegations of the Opposition that the government was not releasing funds in proportion to the allocations and said that 95 per cent of the funds were released during the last four years.

While responding to the general discussion on budget, Rajender quoted CAG report in terms of spending the funds. He said during 2015-16 government allocated Rs 1,15,689 crore and spent Rs 95, 563 crore which is 84.3 per cent. Similarly, during 2016-17 allocations were Rs 1,30,415 crore and expenditure was Rs 1,21,735 crore (93.34 per cent), during 2017-18 allocations were Rs 1,49,640 crore and release was Rs 1,42,506 crore (95 per cent). He said Punjab was the lowest spending State in the country with 65.3 per cent followed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled Assam with 73.4 per cent. 

On the allegations of loan burden, the Minister questioned whether taking loans for construction of irrigation projects and providing 24-hour power was wrong. Regarding the devolution of taxes, the Minister said during 2014-15 government expected Rs 9,749 crore and received Rs 8,189 crore, during 2015-16 Rs 12,823 crore was expected and the government received Rs 12,353 crore, during 2016-17 expected was Rs 13,955 crore and received was Rs 14,877 crore. 

On the Central grants, the Minister said the government expected Centre to provide more grants as Telangana was a new State. He alleged that the Centre had not released more funds even after the recommendation by the NITI Ayog. He stated that development was a benchmark for any government and said that during 2013-14 the GSDP of the State was 4.2 per cent while the GDP of the country was 5.9 per cent. 

The GSDP of Telangana now was Rs 14.1 per cent while the GDP of the country was 9.8 per cent. The per capita income of Telangana is Rs 1,75,534 whereas the country’s per capita income is Rs 1,12,764. The growth rate of agriculture was 16.8 per cent, industries was eight per cent, service sector was at 14.1 per cent, he added. In terms of IT exports, Telangana is third in the country after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with Rs 85,470 crore.

The Minister lashed out at the BJP leaders stating that they seek votes by taking names of gods while the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was giving funds to the temples without making any noise. “The BJP leaders have no awareness on the government schemes hence they are making allegations,” he said. 

On the commodities in ration shops, the Minister said that the Centre had stopped supply of turmeric, chilli and tamarind. He said the government was not thinking like a ‘Marwari shop’. The Minister clarified that the government released Rs 994.67 crore to the minority department. “We have been winning the hearts of the people and people of the State have confidence in Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao,” he said.