Telangana Deputy CM Bhatti: Took Finance Ministry as a Challenge

Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister and finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka reviewed the financial condition of the state with officials at the Secretariat soon after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy allocated him the portfolio on Saturday.

Bhatti said that the Telangana government has a debt burden of nearly Rs 5.50 lakh crore and despite which he had accepted the responsibility of the finance department, taking it as a challenge to bring the state's finances back on track.

Finance special chief secretary K. Ramakrishna briefed the minister about the income, expenditure and debts. Bhatti urged department to work with sincerity and commitment to increase revenue earnings to raise the funds required to implement the party's Six Guarantees. Stating that the success of the government depended on the finance department, Bhatti urged officials and staff to work on wealth creation and distribution to the people. He said that during his 109-day padayatra, the people had brought to his notice the several problems they were facing.

Bhatti said that the welfare schemes should not be viewed as freebies but as an investment in human resources. "If we strengthen human resources, the state's GDP will increase," he said and pointed out that the Congress government had implemented two of the Six Guarantees within two days of coming to power.