KCR, the Chief Minister of Telangana, has been found to have spent a whopping Rs 2,88,811 crore without proper authorization, as revealed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). This overspending occurred between 2014–15 and 2021–22, going beyond the allocated funds and violating the law. As a result, the government had to take additional loans to cover its expenses, leading to increased interest payments and financial strain.
The mismanagement of funds has caused uproar among the public, especially in light of various scandals such as the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme scam, the sheep scam, the metro scam, and the Dharani scam. These scandals have raised concerns about corruption and misuse of public money by the government.
According to the CAG report, the excess expenditure needs to be discussed and regularized by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the Legislature. Despite meeting several times to discuss the State Finance Audit Reports, the issue of regularizing overspent funds has not been addressed yet.
The CAG also pointed out that the government’s overspending has weakened the budgetary and financial control system, leading to a lack of fiscal discipline. This has serious implications for the state’s financial health and raises questions about transparency and accountability in governance.
