CAG audit report on AP finances says debt burden rises to Rs. 3.72 lakh crore

AMARAVATHI: The Comptroller Audit General (CAG) has said that the Andhra Pradesh government has incurred a total debt of Rs. 3,72,503 crore for the financial year 2021-22 with 90 percent of loans taken at an interest of 13.99 percent.

The CAG has submitted the audit report on the financial situation of Andhra Pradesh to this extent and clarified that state loans were increased by 77.54 percent from 2018 to 2022 with an increase in per capita debt by 61 per cent in the last 5 years creating a debt burden of Rs. 92,797 including non-budgetary loans. The CAG revealed that the state government had to pay Rs.1,29,817 crores of debt within the next seven years.

Stating that a grant of Rs 6,356 crore received by the state through central government-sponsored schemes had gone in vain, the CAG report revealed that the outstanding loans of the state have increased by Rs. 24,257 crores compared to last year taking the total loan value including non-budget loans to Rs. 1,18,394 crores. It also said that Rs. 17,804 crores should be paid to discoms and water drainage projects.

Further, the office of the Comptroller and Audit General said that the state has registered a GSDP growth rate of 18.47 percent in the financial year 2021-22 and asserted that the state has amended the FRBM Act to increase the financial loan limit.

The CAG report stated that the state government has mistakenly classified the revenue expenditure of Rs. 688 as capital expenditure and shown the YSR Grihavasati scheme as capital expenditure as part of Navratnalu, which should be shown as revenue expenditure and said that the schemes such as Smart Towns, Krishi Vikas Yojana, and National Health Mission have not been properly implemented due to non-release of state share.

According to the report, Rs. 3,540 crores, which should be released by the state government were not released and hence various schemes were halted from being implemented. It said that the Capital expenditure in Andhra Pradesh is low as compared to other states and hinted that it would impact the creation of physical assets and hamper the long-term economic growth of the state.