Restructure Debts Or Give Assistance: CM To Finance Commission

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy today requested the 16th Finance Commission to either enable the restructuring of the State's debts or extend additional assistance.

The CM was speaking at the 16th Finance Commission meeting at Praja Bhavan.

The Commission Chairman Dr Arvind Panagariya and its members; Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka; ministers Tummala Nageswara Rao, Jupally Krishna Rao, Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar, Government Advisors K Keshava Rao and Shabbir Ali; Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari; and senior officials from various departments were present in the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, the CM asked the members of the Finance Commission to increase the allocation of Central funds to States from 41 percent to 50 percent.

"Telangana is an economically growing, rapidly transforming State, which has contributed a lot to the country. Despite strong advantages and a good economy, we are facing huge challenges. We have a heavy burden of debt, which now stands at over Rs 6.85 lakh crore as of the end of the last financial year. This includes both budgeted and off-budget borrowings. Large loans borrowed in the last 10 years have now created a situation where a significant part of our revenues are used just to repay debt," Revanth Reddy said.

"If we don't manage our loans and interest payments, it will slow down our progress. We seek your support in helping us address this problem. I confident your recommendations will help Telangana overcome its current challenges and continue on the path of growth," the Chief Minister said in the meeting.

He added that the Union government also had a responsibility to help the States make Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of India becoming a USD 5 trillion economy a reality.

"We are confident that Telangana itself will become a USD 1 trillion economy soon. But it needs help getting there," the Chief Minister said.