Borrowing from RBI per month, says T’gana CM amid cash crunch

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy cites cash crunch, relying on ₹4,000 crore loans to pay salaries, urging employees to defer DA demands amid financial struggles.

Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said his government is facing a cash crunch due to the debt burden and other factors, and that it has been able to pay salaries to employees after obtaining a “hand loan” of ₹4,000 crore from the Reserve Bank of India.

Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy (ANI)

Replying to a question in the state legislative council, Revanth Reddy said his government was struggling to pay salaries to its employees on the first day of every month regularly. “Like people in the villages take hand loans to meet their emergency needs, we are forced to approach the Reserve Bank of India every month to take ₹4,000 crore towards ways and means advances to pay salaries to the employees on time,” he said.

The chief minister urged the employees to understand the situation and assured them of complete transparency regarding the state’s financial position. “This is your government. We shall place all accounts before the employees. You decide how much to spend on what and what payments we can withhold,” he said.

“I request the employees not to insist on the DA arrears for now in view of the present difficult financial situation. When we become sick, we control our food intake and follow strict diet norms. Similarly, when the state financial position is sick, the employees should defer their demands for some time,” he said, adding even if the government wants to sell assets to pay DA arrears, it won’t be sufficient.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president and former minister KT Rama Rao hit out at Revanth Reddy. “The chief minister himself has admitted that the revenue to the state have come down in the last one year. It is a big humiliation to the state government,” KTR said.