Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has said that he was appalled to find that the Swachh Andhra Corporation (SAC), which had a corpus fund of ₹2,092 crore in 2020-21 financial year, is left with just ₹7 crore now.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Clearly, it was the result of the large-scale diversion of funds by the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government,” said Mr. Pawan Kalyan while addressing a review meeting on the activities of the SAC on June 26 (Wednesday).
He sought a report on it from the officials to take the necessary actions, while observing that a sizable chunk of the funds devolved by the Central government along with bank interest was misused.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Pawan Kalyan said that the Corporation had spent nearly ₹729 crore and ₹508 crore in 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years respectively. The balance of funds at the end of FY 2021-22 was ₹1,067 crore, which was reduced to ₹3 crore at the commencement of FY 2022-23.
The Central government released ₹70 crore in 2022-23 financial year and the State contributed ₹20 crore. Of the total, ₹46 crore was spent. The Corporation’s funds increased to ₹239 crore in 2023-24 financial year and ₹209 crore was spent. The balance as on date was ₹7.04 crore.
“The officials should dig out the facts related to the Corporation’s financial position between 2019 and 2024 and submit a comprehensive report including details of those responsible for the misappropriation of funds,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan said.