Telangana’s fiscal deficit within limits: CAG Report
According to the CAG report, the fiscal deficit was 3.11% of GSDP in 2018-19 i.e. within 3.25% prescribed by the 14th Finance Commission and 3.5% target set out in MTFP Statement of the State
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Cabinet colleagues have always been upfront about the financial health and fiscal policies of Telangana State, and this has been vindicated by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its latest State Finances Audit Report for the year 2018-19.
The CAG stated that the fiscal deficit and the total outstanding liabilities of the State were within the limits set by the 14th Finance Commission.
According to the CAG report tabled in the State Assembly on Friday, the fiscal deficit was 3.11 per cent of GSDP of Rs 8.65 lakh crore in 2018-19 i.e. within 3.25 per cent prescribed by the 14th Finance Commission and 3.5 per cent target set out in Medium Term Fiscal Policy (MTFP) Statement of the State as per Fiscal Regulation and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.
Similarly, the total outstanding liabilities (Rs 1.96 lakh crore) were 22.75 per cent of GSDP and within the limit of 23.33 per cent prescribed by the Finance Commission and 25 per cent targeted by MTFP.
The CAG also observed an increase in growth of Revenue Receipts (RR) and Revenue Expenditure (RE) during 2015-16 and 2018-19. The growth rates of both RR and RE came close to the growth of GSDP with the RR increasing by Rs 12,596 crore and the RE increasing by Rs 11.718 crore in 2018-19 when compared to the previous fiscal of 2017-18. It was also found that there was improved efficiency in the collection of taxes on sales and trades including State Goods and Services Tax as well as State Excise.
The CAG stated that the guarantees amounting to Rs 77,713 crore given by the State government till 2018-19 stood at 87 per cent of total revenue receipts of the preceding year and was within the ceiling of 90 per cent. Indicating priority was given to irrigation projects and drinking water projects, the CAG said around 65 per cent of the total loans were spent on Mission Bhagiratha and Kaleshwaram project.
Similarly, the State government spent Rs 1.01 lakh crore on capital projects during 2014-19, mainly on irrigation and flood control. Out of 26 ongoing projects, the CAG pointed out that 20 projects were delayed (up to 11 years) by the previous governments which resulted in a cost escalation of 1.87 lakh crore. The previous governments already spent more than Rs 1 lakh crore on these incomplete projects.
The CAG observed that the agriculture sector was given top priority with a 97.82 per cent increase in per capita expenditure in 2018-19 over the previous years due to the Rythu Bandhu scheme. There was a considerable increase of 12.41 per cent on health and family welfare over the previous year. However, it also observed a decrease in the per capita expenditure in education, sports, arts and culture by around 6.19 per cent. Telangana focused more on Development Expenditure (Rs 93,483 crore) and Capital Expenditure (Rs 22,641 crore) when compared to previous years, the CAG said.
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