Addressing the people at the 75th Indian Independence celebrations at Golconda Fort, the CM refuted opposition allegations of runaway debt.
Refuting the opposition parties' allegations that the State government was turning a rich State into a debt-ridden one, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao claimed that Telangana was not among the top States in the country in terms of debt, and that its borrowings still remained under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limit.
Addressing the people after hoisting the national flag marking the 75th Indian Independence celebrations at Golconda Fort today, the CM said that Telangana had inherited a debt of Rs. 75,577 crores from undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2014, and that the State government's debt was Rs. 1,49,873 crore.
"The amounts raised through loans have been utilised for the construction of irrigation projects, strengthening infrastructure and other capital works. Debts have not been used for other purposes. Moreover, Telangana stands 23rd among 28 States in terms of debt-GSDP ratio," the CM said.
"Telangana's debt-GSDP ratio is 23.5%, and it is under the FRBM limit. The nation's debt-GDP ratio in contrast is 50.5%. But some people are aiming at indulging in a mudslinging campaign against the State government over the debt," KCR said.
Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's "lopsided policies" against Telangana, the CM found fault with the Centre for denying a "fair" share of 41% of the taxes collected by the Centre to the States.
"The States are now getting only 29.6% of the tax collections against their fair share of 41%. The Centre is denying the remaining 11.4% to the States in the name of cess and other taxes. Further, various restrictions are being arbitrarily imposed on the economic freedom of the States. The Centre is also imposing cuts on the loans taken by the States using the FRBM limit," KCR claimed.
The CM also expressed concern over the Centre levying taxes "indiscriminately" on items from milk to crematorium services, and putting a burden on the poor and middle class people. He also said that the Centre was insulting the States' welfare schemes for the poor by painting them as freebies.
KCR also lambasted the union government for "making a mockery" of the Constitution by taking unilateral decisions on subjects in the concurrent list without consulting the States.
The Chief Minister said that Telangana was making progressive strides. He claimed that that State had attracted an investment of Rs. 2,32,111 crore during the last eight years, and that it had provided employment to about 16.5 lakh people.
The government had created over 1.55 lakh new jobs in just IT during just the last one year, and had surpassed Karnataka, he claimed. He also said that the State's IT exports had gone up to Rs. 1,83,569 crore from Rs 57,258 crore in 2014, registering an unprecedented 26.14% annual growth against the national rate of 17.2%.
He also said that the State government was giving importance to all sections of the society to make the growth inclusive. He claimed that elaborate steps had been taken to improve the basic amenities and infrastructure in all government hospitals, and that all 56,000 beds in government hospitals had been upgraded to oxygen beds, and that efforts were being made to set up one medical college and one nursing college in each district in the next two years.