Centre's decisions on demonetisation hurting states: K Chandrasekhar Rao
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is learnt to have initiated steps to rally non-BJP CMs of other states to oppose the recent decisions of NDA government, which have pushed state governments into a financial crisis.
Mr Rao is learnt to be in touch with non-BJP CMs against the sudden decisions of NDA government like demonetisation and drastic cuts imposed this month on tax devolution to states. These resulted in state governments incurring heavy losses.
Mr Rao, who met Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan on Thursday and expressed displeasure over the Centre’s decisions, is now planning to visit New Delhi next week to garner the support of non-BJP CMs to oppose these moves.
TRS sources said the CM was very upset with Centre’s moves and wanted to take up the issue with CMs of non-BJP states over how to go about to save state governments from financial crisis. Mr Rao was closeted with the Governor for about four hours in Raj Bhavan on Thursday.
Generally, CMO sources ‘leak’ what transpires during such meetings, but late on Thursday, the CMO came out with an official release, stating that the CM expressed serious concern over the Centre's decisions which adversely impacted the revenues of TS, making it difficult to implement certain schemes.
Mr Rao told the Governor that TS would lose up to Rs 2,000 crore per month. The real estate sector will be the worst affected, he said.
Mr Rao said the property transactions, which used to average around 3,000 per day came down to between 150 and 300 in the last two days, due to which the revenues declined by 90 per cent.
He told the Governor that the government used to earn Rs 20 crore per day through property registrations. Motor vehicles registrations have dropped by 50 per cent with just about 1,700 and 1,100 registrations being done against the average of 3,000 per day, earlier.
Mr Rao said the government used to earn Rs 4,500 crore per month through taxes imposed on sale of liquor, fuel, luxury tax, entertainment tax etc and now it is hard to get even Rs 1,500 crore.
The Centre had cut tax devolution to Rs 587 crore this month against average of Rs 997 crore, without any intimation.
“When we enquired, we were given different reasons like Centre taking up mid-term review on tax devolutions and Centre not having sufficient funds at present. No Union government had acted like this earlier, that too in the middle of the financial year,” Mr Rao said.
