Hans News Service Visakhapatnam

Expressingconcern over debts mobilised by the NDA government, particularly in the past two years, YSRCP MLC Botcha Satyanarayana dashed off a letter to Governor S Abdul Nazeer alleging that the state finance department presented inaccurate details regarding government borrowings for 2024-25 and 2025-26 in the Legislative Council.

Satyanarayana said the response given by the principal finance secretary to a ‘starred’ question in the February 2026 session understated the actual borrowings, omitting ‘key’ components.

The leader of Opposition in Legislative Council requested the Governor’s intervention in convincing the state government to provide the real picture of the data to the legislature. “The finance department stated that total borrowings for 2024 - 25 were Rs 60,485 crore. However, the CAG-audited finance accounts clearly indicate that the actual net liabilities are about Rs. 81,082 crore. This leaves a gap of more than Rs. 20,500 crore which needs attention,” he demanded.

Pointing out that three major components would have possibly been omitted, the MLC said, “Borrowings under Ways and Means Advances from RBI were not included, even though they have been classified as internal debt in official records. Net liabilities under public account such as deposits and reserve funds were excluded. Also, adjustments related to GST compensation loans were reduced without valid justification.”

He underlined that when the fiscal deficit itself is over Rs 81,000 crore, presenting a much lower borrowing figure paints a ‘different’ picture of the state’s finances. “Such omissions create a false impression that the government’s debt burden is lower than it actually is,” he critcised.

Raising another issue, Satyanarayana said the government’s claim that there were no off-budget borrowings in 2025-26 is incorrect. “Government backed corporations like MARKFED and Civil Supplies Corporation have been allowed to raise loans with state guarantees. These entities depend on government support and such borrowings clearly fall under off budget liabilities as per Government of India guidelines,” he said.

Pointing to alleged inconsistency in the finance department’s approach, Satyanarayana said that when details were sought for borrowings from 2014 – 2024, both public debt and public account were included. However, public account was excluded in the past two years. He expressed that this raises serious concerns.

Stating that officials are expected to present facts in a transparent manner, he stressed that any deviation from this principle affects the credibility of the finance department and weakens public trust. The MLC requested the Governor to intervene and ensure corrective action is taken with immediate effect.