Vijayawada: Addressing the media at the BJP state headquarters here on Tuesday, former chief secretary I Y R Krishna Rao said the delay in payment of salaries and pensions reflects the magnitude of the impending crisis. He advised the YSRCP government to control welfare measures and focus on development.

Otherwise, the state will suffer huge losses in the near future, he warned. Krishna Rao recalled that the previous and present governments had raised a debt of Rs 5 lakh crore which would be huge for the people. "It was a serious mistake on the part of the state government to raise loans to distribute to the people in the name of welfare." He wondered why the government was distributing money to the people and for how long it would continue.

What if distribution is stopped? He said that the government is mortgaging government properties in Visakhapatnam which is a clear evidence of poor financial management. What will happen to the development of infrastructure of hospitals, educational institutions, roads, drinking water supply, housing and others if all the money is used for welfare, he asked. Referring to the debt raised by the BJP government at the Centre, he said that the Modi administration has not neglected development.

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