Reduction of wasteful expenditure and enhancing investments for development while improving the overall fiscal performance of the state are among the key achievements of the Congress government which is completing two years in office on Saturday, according to state finanance minister K Rosaiah. | |
| Speaking to Business Standard here on Wednesday, Rosaiah, who is the senior-most member of the state cabinet and a veteran Congress leader, said in a short span of two years the Congress government could bail out the state from many fiscal and policy imbalances 'inherited' from the previous government. |
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| "The state government secured the approval of the Planning Commission for the highest annual plan outlay of Rs 20,000 crore for the year 2006-07, surpassing the outlays of even states which have much stronger financial base. This happened only due to better fiscal management of the state finances. The Planning Commission approved our plan proposal only after convincing itself that the state is spending more on development," Rosaiah said. |
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| Even in the face of the increased expenditure on various sectors, including irrigation, in the last two years, the state government never resorted to ways and means for a single day whereas the previous government led by Chandrababu Naidu resorted to the method and overdraft of Rs 7,356 crore for 181 days in 2003-04, the last year of the second tenure of the Naidu government, Rosaiah said. |
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| "We are building assets which will help our economy grow in several decades to come. We are ensuring transparency in disposal of unused government lands to raise resources for the purpose of building assets whose benefits are many and not for any cosmetic requirements," he said replying to a question on land sales. |
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| The government in the last two years has evolved a set of transparent policy guidelines for allotment of lands to companies for each sector including IT, textile and other industries besides the establishment of SEZs with a clear goal of encouraging the growth of industry and employment opportunities in the state, he said. |
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| On the revenue front, the minister said the revenue earning departments were meeting the projected targets while admitting that the commercial taxes department had overcome the initial setback faced in the early months after the introduction of VAT regime in the state. |
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| Though the government is adhering to fiscal correction path in the light of 12th Finance Commission recommendations, it has not shied away from accepting additional financial obligations such as implementation of revised pay scales for its employees costing an additional Rs1,900 crore to the exchequer. |
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| "Similarly, for the first time in the history of the state, our government recruited over 3,500 doctors and paramedical staff in just two years to improve the healthcare facilities of our people. Our government has introduced the practice of purchasing life-saving drugs only and directly from public sector entities to ensure the quality of these drugs. We introduced UGC scales for the faculty of teaching hospitals to retain and improve the standards in medical education. We started investing in high-end equipment like MRIs and CT scans in government hospitals," the minister, who also holds the health portfolio, told Business Standard. |
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| Among other things, the state government had saved Rs 333 crore via debt swapping amounting to about Rs 7,000 crore in the last two years, the minister said. |
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| According to Rosaiah, by strictly following the fiscal responsibility parameters, including the aim of reducing revenue deficit to zero level by the year 2009 and reducing fiscal deficit to 3 per cent of the GSDP by the same year, would entitle an additional financial assistance of Rs 6,830 crore from the Centre in the next five years. |
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