As Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s five-year term is at the fag end and suspicion prevailed on his return the mess created by him in finances of the state is likely to haunt the administration for a long. As of now, the whereabouts of Rs 16,000 crore collected collected in the form of sale of security bonds in the name of needs has become a topic of discussion.
The state government collects huge loans through the auction of government securities conducted every Tuesday under the auspices of the Reserve Bank. As part of this, it recently collected a loan of Rs 16,000 crores. First, it was decided to pay these loans in the form of cash transfer to the beneficiaries of welfare schemes in the months of April and May.
However, that did not happen. Even the strategy of paying one or two days before the polling failed due to the intervention of the Election Commission. Even after the completion of polling, though EC cleared for its payment, no one has been paid till now.
According to the officials, only 1500 to 2000 crores have been paid to the beneficiaries, mostly towards pensions, while a total of Rs 14,000 crores was to be paid. It is known that these funds were also paid from the general income.
The contractors are also being paid heavily. But it is reported that other funds have been used more for these too. Rs 14,000 crores of revenue accrues to the state exchequer every month. This amount is made up of the income of the state’s own taxes, the funds given by the center, various loans and the state’s share of central taxes.
It is said that while salaries and pensions were paid to the employees, the bills of the contractors were paid with the remaining funds. It is not clear where and how the Rs. 16,000 crore collected by the Reserve Bank was spent.
Even the authorities are not talking about it. If we look at the loans taken from the Reserve Bank, it seems to be at the rate of 315 crores per day. Officials say that many things can be done with the hugely collected funds. However, senior officials are also of the opinion that this amount given to the beneficiaries for development and welfare is nominal.
