Telangana’s asset growth outpaced debt in BRS regime, confirms Centre

Lok Sabha data reveals Telangana’s assets grew faster than debt during the BRS decade, countering Congress claims of financial ruin. The current Congress government, however, has accrued Rs 2.17 lakh crore debt in under two years, raising fiscal concerns.

Hyderabad: Official data presented in the Lok Sabha has punctured the Congress government’s narrative that the previous BRS administration left Telangana buried under unsustainable debt. Figures from the Union Finance Ministry, based on CAG-certified State finance accounts, reveal that Telangana’s assets grew significantly faster than its borrowings during the BRS’ decade in power.

Replying to a question raised by BJP MP M Raghunandan Rao in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said Telangana’s assets were valued at Rs 83,143 crore when the State was formed in 2014-15. The total public debt stood at Rs 69,603 crore. By the end of 2023-24, total public debt rose to Rs 3,50,520 crore, but assets surged to Rs 4,15,100 crore.

The total public debt included Rs 3.14 lakh crore of open market loans, Rs 18,057.16 crore in Central loans, Rs 13,194.39 crore in loans from autonomous bodies, Rs 999.62 crore of outstanding ways and means advances including overdraft, and Rs 4,723.16 crore of Special Securities issued to the NSSF of the Central government.

A simple analysis of the data released by the Centre indicates that during the decade-long BRS rule, the State witnessed an increase of nearly Rs 3.32 lakh crore in assets, compared to a debt increase of about Rs 2.80 lakh crore. This means that for every rupee borrowed, the State added more than a rupee in assets as a result of heavy capital investment in irrigation, infrastructure, welfare facilities and public utilities during the BRS era.

The Centre’s data also debunks the claims of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the rest of the Congress leaders that the State debt had skyrocketed to Rs 7 lakh crore. Ironically, the Revanth Reddy government has accrued a massive debt of Rs 2.17 lakh crore, including both FRBM and non-FRBM loans, in just about 21 months as on August 11.

According to financial experts, the previous BRS government invested largely in projects like the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, Mission Bhagiratha, road networks and health and educational infrastructure, which created long-term productive value for Telangana. They pointed out that assets exceeding liabilities was a healthy fiscal sign, in stark contrast to the Congress claims that the State was left in financial ruin. While borrowing increased, the asset creation ratio indicates that loans were largely channelled into capital formation rather than wasteful expenditure.