With empty coffers staring at it after a loss of ₹15,000 crore a month due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has flayed the Narendra Modi government for not holding out a helping hand to help it tide over the financial crisis caused by the virus.

He alleged that the Centre, with all the levers in its hand, is not even allowing the States to go for borrowings by increasing the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limits. "You increase the limit. We will negotiate with lenders," he said.

“I have been asking for increasing the FRBM limits. It won’t put any additional burden on the Centre. The onus will be on us to clear the borrowings,” he said.

He asked the Union Government to break the silence and hold out a helping hand to the States. “You are in power with control over issues related to financial regulation. You can’t keep silent. You have to respond to the appeals,” he said.

He alleged that the State had not received any financial support from the Centre as its monthly revenues fell to about ₹1,600 crore a month from ₹15,000 crore.

He said the State’s appeal to defer loan repayments and debt service for some time fell on deaf ears. “Why the RBI deducted ₹2,500 crore towards debt servicing in these difficult times,” he said.

“The salary bill itself is about ₹3,000 crore. We are going to release about ₹2,000 crore for one-time clearance of farm loans up to ₹25,000. We will continue with the Rythu Bandhu (₹5,000 each for farmers in the kharif and rabi seasons for every acre they own),” he said.

Power bill will infringe State’s rights

The Chief Minister also strongly opposed to the Power Bill that sought to usurp the States’ right in the power sector. “It seeks to appoint regulators. and it can adversely impact the 24-hour free power scheme,” he said.

“We are going to oppose it tooth and nail,” he said.

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