TS lagging in education, health expenditures, finds CAG

Hyderabad: The CAG found Telangana state to be persistently lagging in expenditures on education and healthcare sectors, with eight per cent and four per cent allocations made respectively in the Budgets during the BRS regime.

In 2021-22, despite increased revenue receipts (at 26 per cent), Telangana state failed to register a revenue surplus for a third consecutive year while the BRS government continued to present “revenue surplus budgets” every year, the report stated.

As the state registered a revenue deficit, it had to borrow from the market. The state government will have to repay Rs 2,52,048 crore in principal and interest on market borrowings by 2032-33, which would put significant pressure on government finances.

The other two fiscal targets, namely ratios of fiscal deficit to GSDP and total outstanding liabilities to GSDP, were also not achieved by the state in 2021-22. The revenue deficit of Rs 9,335 crore was understated by Rs 1,157 crore due to non-discharge of interest liabilities on account of certain misclassifications between revenue and capital expenditure, it stated.

Apart from its total liabilities of Rs 3,14,663 crore, the state is also liable to pay principal and interest on account of its off-budget borrowings (OBB) to an extent of Rs 1,18,955 crore.

Taking into consideration the OBB and other liabilities serviced from the state Budget, the ratio of debt to GSDP would be 37.77 per cent, which is 12.77 per cent higher than the set target of 25 per cent, as per FRBM Act. This is also 8.47 per cent above the norms of 29.30 per cent, as prescribed by the XV Finance Commission.

The CAG noted that there was no progress in the apportionment of assets and liabilities between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after 2018-19, indicating a lack of emphasis on apportionment.

A review of Budget components revealed that non-tax revenue and grants-in-aid were projected abnormally. Consequently, Budget estimates for expenditure were also overestimated, resulting in unspent provisions across several grants, the CAG said.

Data as of March 2022:

39 SPSUs clocked accumulated losses of Rs 56,613.77 crore

-Rs 35,008 crore was the combined net worth

Major profit-making SPSUs in 2021-22

Singareni Collieries: Rs 1,227.04 crore

TS Power Generation Corporation Limited: Rs 394.46 crore

Transmission Corporation of Telangana Limited: Rs 86.27 crore

Telangana State Warehouse Corporation: Rs 109.21 crore

Major loss-making SPSUs in 2021-22

TS Southern Power Distribution Company Limited: Rs 626.8 crore

TS Northern Power Distribution Company Limited: Rs 204.03 crore

TS Road Transport Corporation: Rs 1,986.59 crore

TS Housing Corporation Limited: Rs 817.16 crore

Telangana Rajiv Swagruha Corporation Limited: Rs 324.23 crore