Previous KCR govt left Telangana with Rs 8.21 lakh crore debt burden: Congressa with ₹8.21 lakh crore liabilities

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday launched a sharp attack on the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), alleging that the previous government led by K Chandrashekar Rao left the state burdened with liabilities amounting to Rs 8.21 lakh crore. He also announced a vigilance inquiry into allegations that 40 lakh tonnes of coal had gone missing from Singareni Collieries Company Limited.

Addressing a press conference at the Telangana Secretariat alongside ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Adluri Laxman Kumar, Bhatti dismissed accusations by senior BRS leaders T Harish Rao and KT Rama Rao regarding the state's financial management.

Accusing the opposition of indulging in "Goebbels-style propaganda", Bhatti said the Congress government had inherited a massive financial burden after a decade of BRS rule. He claimed that while the current government had borrowed Rs 1.77 lakh crore since taking office, it had also repaid Rs 2,08,681 crore, including principal and interest, on loans contracted during the previous regime.

According to Bhatti, the total liability rises to Rs 8,21,651 crore when borrowings under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) framework, corporation loans backed by state guarantees, employee dues and power distribution company liabilities are taken into account.

Questioning Harish Rao's assertion that the BRS government borrowed only around Rs 3 lakh crore, Bhatti asked how the state was now facing such a substantial repayment burden if that claim was accurate.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the Congress government initially refrained from publicising the state's financial condition to safeguard Telangana's credibility among investors and financial institutions. However, he said the government had decided to disclose the figures after the opposition intensified its criticism.

Bhatti also highlighted a debt restructuring exercise undertaken by the state government, claiming it had reduced repayment liabilities scheduled between 2025-26 and 2031-32 from Rs 34,058 crore to Rs 11,915 crore. The move, he said, would save the state an estimated Rs 22,142 crore.

He further alleged that the previous government borrowed extensively from commercial banks at interest rates of 10 to 10.5 per cent, increasing the state's debt-servicing burden.

The minister accused the BRS government of concealing liabilities by routing borrowings through government corporations for major projects such as Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme and Mission Bhagiratha instead of reflecting them as direct government debt.

"Whether loans are taken by corporations or directly by the government, it is ultimately the taxpayers who repay them," he said.

Responding to BRS allegations that 40 lakh tonnes of coal had disappeared from Singareni Collieries, Bhatti dismissed the claims as baseless and said the company operated under advanced geo-fencing and surveillance systems that made large-scale irregularities highly unlikely.

At the same time, he announced that he had directed Singareni's Director of Vigilance to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. The findings, he said, would be made public.

"Singareni is an institution that supports nearly 40,000 families. We will not allow its reputation to be tarnished through baseless allegations," he said.

The minister also questioned the previous government's handling of coal block allocations, alleging that despite expanding thermal power generation through the Bhadradri and Yadadri power projects, it failed to secure new coal blocks for Singareni. He cited the Koyagudem and Sattupalli-3 coal blocks, claiming they were allotted to private firms instead of the state-run miner.

The Deputy Chief Minister further accused the opposition of spreading misinformation about welfare hostels. He said the government had increased students' cosmetic allowances by 200 per cent, ensured timely release of diet charges and introduced transparent tendering for uniforms, shoes and textbooks.

Referring to corruption allegations raised by the opposition, Bhatti said the actual tender value for hostel supplies was Rs 1,142 crore, while BRS leaders had made unsubstantiated claims of irregularities worth Rs 2,000 crore and later Rs 3,000 crore.

In a final swipe at the opposition, Bhatti questioned the absence of the Leader of the Opposition from Assembly proceedings and urged BRS leaders to participate in debates inside the House rather than make allegations outside it.

He said the Congress government remained committed to transparency, fiscal responsibility and the protection of Telangana's public institutions and welfare programmes.

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