The World Bank has made an offer that the debt-ridden Telangana cannot refuse. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has revealed that the World Bank has shown interest in restructuring the state government’s high-cost loans.
The offer was made during the Chief Minister’s recent tour of the United States to attract investments into the state.
Delivering the Independence Day address at Golconda Fort in Hyderabad after unfurling the national flag, the Chief Minister said that he intended to lessen the burden of loans on the state government.
He recalled how the Congress had inherited a huge pile of debts of Rs 7 lakh crore and how he wanted to reduce the burden on the state.
The chief minister said that when he visited the US, he held talks with World Bank officials which held out hope of lessening the burden imposed on the government by indiscriminate borrowing by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.
“Telangana’s debt burden has gone up by 10 times since its creation in 2014. The total state debt at the time of the formation of Telangana was Rs 75,577 crore and increased to Rs 7 lakh crore in December last year. The government released a white paper on state finances and also committed to revitalising the state’s economy,” Reddy said.
The Chief Minister said it was heartening that the talks with the World Bank representatives were held in a cordial atmosphere to help the state retire high-cost loans and convert them into low-cost ones.
“We met with the World Bank President during our recent visit to America. I am delighted to announce that talks with the World Bank representatives were held cordially in extending financial assistance with low interest rates for the state’s development. My government will not commit the mistakes of borrowing funds with higher interest rates and putting a heavy burden on people. Despite facing financial hurdles, the government is making all-out efforts to fulfil the promises of ‘Abhaya Hastham’ (Helping Hand) with a commitment to bringing happiness in every family,” he said.
Narrating how his government had been making sincere efforts to implement all the promises made to the people ahead of the Assembly elections in November last year, Reddy said that topping all of them was the successful implementation of the most difficult of all the promises — waiving farmers’ crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh.
“Farmers are celebrating a big festival in the state. The distressed farmers are freed from the mounting debt burden. As per the Warangal Declaration announced during the election period, the government is successfully implementing farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakhs in a single go. Some political forces said the farm loan waiver is impossible,” he said.
“The government made it possible and proved to be farmer-friendly. Opposition parties are trying to find fault in the implementation of the farm loan waiver scheme. Every deserving farmer will benefit from the scheme. The state agriculture department took the responsibility of addressing the grievances that arose due to technical problems,” he added.
The chief minister further said the government deposited Rs 6,098 crore directly to the farmers’ bank accounts on 18 July and relieved them from a debt burden of up to Rs 1 lakh.
“11.50 lakh farmers got a big relief. In the second phase, 6.40 lakh farmers availed benefit of the farm loan waiver scheme. Today, we are witnessing a wonderful occasion of the waiver of farm loans up to ₹2 lakhs in a single go. It is a proud moment that farmers got a big relief from debts on Independence Day. The purpose of my life is fulfilled. I strongly believe that the country will flourish when the farmers prosper. The government spent Rs 31,000 crore on farm loan waiver,” he said.
The Chief Minister said his government demonstrated its commitment to agriculture by allocating Rs 72,659 crore for agriculture and allied sectors in the budget.
“Efforts are also being made to enhance the farmers’ incomes and farm output. Seeds and fertilisers are supplied to the farmers through Primary Agricultural Cooperative societies. The government supplied 11.85 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers to farmers till 24 July in the rainy season this year.” the chief minister said.
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