Okay To Take Debts For Developmental Projects: KCR

Asserting that there was nothing wrong in borrowing money for taking up developmental works, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao pointed out that even the United States of America borrowed money equal to its GDP.

Speaking on the motion of thanks to the Governor's address in Legislative Council on Wednesday, KCR said the state was borrowing as per the guidelines laid down by the Centre. Ridiculing the Congress criticism of the debts taken by the TRS government in the last two-and-a-half years, KCR said the Rs 60,000-crore debts taken in the last 60 years by the previous governments was equivalent to Rs 6 lakh crores now.

The Chief Minister also said that the State government would repay Rs 20,000 crores this year. He said that new debts being taken would equal those being repaid.

Stating that power firms were bankrupt due to the wrong policies of some states, the Chief Minister said that the Centre had brought in the Uday scheme to strengthen the power firms. As part of it, the state government would take on the debts on behalf of the power firms. The state government had thus taken Rs 12,000 crores of debts for the sake of the power firms. There would be no development if there was no power, the Chief Minister pointed out, and claimed that the banks were in queue to purchase Telangana's Power Bonds.

He also asked the opposition parties not to ignore the fact that the state government had solved the power problem. Both the Congress and the TDP governments had made the people and industrial units of the state cry for 30 years due to power cuts, he said. The TRS government solved that almost as soon as it came to power, he pointed out, and that should not be lost in the din that the opposition was creating about debts, he said.

He also lashed out at the rumours circulating in WhatsApp groups that the government would impose a four-hour power cut. He aserted that the state government would not cut the power for even four seconds.

He also informed the Council that the state government had started a banks' consortium for the sake of the Mission Bhagiratha scheme. There wouldn't be any drinking water problem in the state after the unique scheme was completed.