Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has criticised the previous Bharat Rashtra Samiti government for pushing the State into a debt trap because of the “mismanagement” of finances during its close to 10-year rule.
Telangana, which was revenue surplus at the time of its formation in 2014, is now saddled with debt of more than ₹7 lakh crore. From ₹6,000 crore expenditure for debt servicing in 2014, the State with revenue receipts of ₹1.3 lakh crore is paying ₹70,000 crore a year to service its debts at present. “A surplus State is brought to near bankruptcy during the 10-year tenure of the BRS. We have to raise loans to repay previous loans. Can anybody destroy the economy so fast,” he questioned.
The Chief Minister said the State would opt for borrowings to create assets, but the BRS government hadn’t created any assets in the past 10 years: “Neither Kaleshwaram project nor Mission Bhagiratha are assets. What returns did they generate?”
