Telangana Govt’s off budget borrowings reaches ₹1.2 lakh crore by 2023-24 end; to be paid from budget

Telangana Government raises off-budget borrowings of ₹1.2 lakh crore by the end of 2023-24

The Telangana Government has raised off budget borrowings of ₹2,545.98 crore during 2023-24,the last year of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) second term of government, taking the total to ₹1.2 lakh crore till March 31, 2024. Off budget borrowings (OBB) are loans raised by corporations, special purpose vehicles (SPVs) but serviced [paid] by the government from budget.

The State government did not report information on the guarantees invoked and these off budget liabilities, the loans raised by the SPVs/corporations/institutions but serviced by the government, which will affect the fiscal position of the State, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said in the report on the Finance Accounts of 2023-24.

The State government disclosed off budget liabilities of ₹2,302.72 crore in 2023-24 in its budget document, but the quantum was ₹2,545.98 crore going by the Ministry of Finance site.

Of the total ₹1.2 lakh crore OBBs, the maximum amount guaranteed by the government was ₹74,105 crore on Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project Corporation Limited followed by Telangana Drinking Water Supply Corporation at ₹21,643 crore and Telangana State Water Resources Infrastructure Development Corporation at ₹14,526.71 crore.

There was an addition of ₹148 crore to the Kaleshwaram project during 2023-24 and deletions (other than invoked) were ₹5,173.63 crore taking the total outstanding to ₹69,079 crore. The Telangana Housing Corporation saw an addition of ₹300 crore to ₹7,664 crore guaranteed by the government and Rs 850 crore was raised by Telangana Housing Board during the fiscal. The total amount repaid on OBBs during the fiscal (2023-24) was pegged at ₹11,428 crore.

The CAG expressed concern that the OBBs of ₹1.2 lakh crore were not included in the total liabilities of the State as a result of which the liabilities were understated to that effect. While the the ratio of outstanding public debt and other liabilities without inclusion of these OBBs works out to 26.41%, it is 34.47% with inclusion of the OBBs. This was in excess of 33.10% prescribed in the medium term fiscal policy of the State Government.