Will fix financial anarchy left by BRS: Bhatti

Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka described the 10-years’ budget presented by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) as ‘financial anarchy’ and said that the Congress government was trying to restore financial discipline with a realistic budget.

Mr. Vikramarka read out the ‘inflated’ figures in all the budgets presented by the BRS, and explained how actual spending remained a distant dream.

During a discussion on Budget on Friday, he took objection to BRS leader Harish Rao’s comments on poor spending and alleged that Telangana consistently failed to utilise allocated funds, and lagged behind states such as Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, which exceeded in spendings or touched 99% of the budget figures.

He said that the unspent amounts ballooned from ₹8,000 crore in 2016-17 to ₹58,571 crore in 2023-24, averaging more than 15% shortfall annually. Citing specific figures, he pointed out that the BRS government had failed to spend significant portions of its budgets: ₹8,000 crore in 2016-17, ₹40,000 crore in 2018-19, ₹48,000 crore in 2021-22, over ₹52,000 crore in 2022-23, and ₹58,571 crore in 2023-24. “Despite presenting grand budgets, the actual spending never matched,” he said.

The Finance Minister also questioned the developmental impact of the ₹16.70 lakh crore spent by BRS over the last decade. “What major infrastructure have they added? Did they construct Nagarjunasagar, Srisailam, Sri Ram Sagar, Outer Ring Road, or an airport?” he asked.

Targeting the much-debated Kaleshwaram project, Mr. Vikramarka claimed that ₹1 lakh crore was spent on it, and yet it remains ineffective due to structural failures. He alleged that BRS had left behind massive debts, including ₹77,000 crore to Singareni Collieries. He also criticised the sale of Outer Ring Road at ₹7,300 crore under a 30-year lease and the advance collection of excise revenue.

CAG report

Highlighting financial irregularities, he cited a CAG report which revealed that ₹2.30 lakh crore was spent without Assembly approval. “We are now taking corrective measures to restore fiscal discipline,” he asserted.

Addressing Opposition’s concerns about the Congress government’s borrowing, he clarified that the government had paid ₹1,53,359 crore for repayment of loans taken by BRS and the net debt increase under Congress stood at just ₹4,682 crore. “We have spent ₹1,34,000 crore on welfare programmes while ensuring responsible financial management,” he added.