KTR, the Minister of Telangana State has been boasting very high about the so-called development and business in his state. Of course, it is visible in some parts of Hyderabad.
He has been appealing to businessmen everywhere to opt for Telangana instead of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
If whatever KTR has been claiming is true, then why the GST collection of Telangana State has negligible difference when compared to that of Andhra Pradesh?
Kiran Rejiju, the Minister of Law and Justice announced the April 2022 GST collection from every state, along with mentioning the growth rate from previous year.
The total GST collection from Telangana for the month of April 2022 is Rs 4955 Cr, but from Andhra Pradesh it is Rs 4067 Cr.
Telangana is being projected as the Pharma Hub and IT Hub of India. We all know how many MNCs, Star Hotels, Five Star Hospitals and big business malls are there in Hyderabad.
When AP, which is being criticized as a no-income zone due to no investments and no happening of business, can collect Rs 4067 Cr as the GST, is it reasonable to see Telangana collecting only Rs 4955 Cr?
KTR has been boasting as if entire world business is happening only in Hyderabad. If that is the case, where are the GST figures?
Karnataka, being only a IT hub but not Pharma Hub has collected more than 11,000 Cr as GST in April 2022.
When inquired into this an insider said, "There are many reasons for recording poor GST. Let me give an example with real estate business. The official land value in Telangana is almost half of the market price. I bought a commercial space in Gachibowli area for which I had to pay Rs 4 Cr while the official mention is only around Rs 2 Cr. That way, a lot of black money is in circulation eating away the genuine tax revenue. The phenomenon is not the same in Karnataka. There the difference is very small unlike in Telangana State. KTR may boast Telangana as the IT hub and Pharma Hub, but beyond that, Telangana is the biggest Black Money Hub".
A business analyst from AP says, "Figures speak the truth. When the difference between the GST collections of Telangana and AP is too small, we should call AP a developed state on par with that of Telangana. Or else, we may understand that Telangana is projecting its fake development".
Kiran Sharma