BRS Flags Fiscal Fraud, Seeks White Paper
Hyderabad: The BRS on Saturday alleged fiscal fraud by the Congress government and sought a White Paper on inflated revenue targets. BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan cited the latest Comptroller and Auditor General reports and accused the government of deceptive budgeting.
Dasoju Sravan said the government was pushing Telangana into a debt trap. He demanded that it table a White Paper in the Assembly. He asked the government to explain why it inflated revenue targets and clarify the breach of borrowing limits. He also sought that all approvals be placed in the public domain.
Further, Sravan urged the State to disclose funding plans and the debt impact of its Six Guarantees, Musi Revival and Future City projects. He called for a quarterly revenue correction roadmap. He also demanded details of guarantees and off budget liabilities flagged by the CAG.
Citing official figures, Sravan said that against a Budget Estimate of Rs 2,29,720.63 crore, the State realised only Rs 1,38,371.11 crore of revenue receipts till January 2026. This accounts for 60.23 per cent of the target. Therefore, nearly 40 per cent remains unrealised with two months left in the fiscal year. He termed this a revenue mirage that masked weakening finances.
He also highlighted sectoral underperformance. Stamps and Registration collections stood at Rs 12,345.81 crore against a target of Rs 19,087.26 crore, which is 64.68 per cent. He said this indicated a slowdown in real estate. Similarly, Excise revenues were Rs 19,083.64 crore against Rs 27,623.36 crore, or 69 per cent, with year on year performance deteriorating.
Meanwhile, Sravan pointed to low Central inflows. He said only Rs 4,213.29 crore, or 18.49 per cent, was realised under Grants in Aid against a target of Rs 22,782.50 crore. Non Tax Revenue stood at Rs 7,864.18 crore, which is just 24.8 per cent of the Rs 31,618.77 crore estimate.
Raising concern over borrowings, Sravan said net borrowings had touched Rs 69,148.28 crore by January. This is 128 per cent of the sanctioned annual limit of Rs 54,009 crore. He also noted that the revenue deficit widened to Rs 10,566 crore from Rs 2,738 crore during the same period last year.
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