The latest set of figures compiled by the state finance department disproves the notion that all taxes paid in Hyderabad will remain with Telangana post the bifurcation. According to these figures, the capital contributed just around Rs 15,000 crore (22 per cent) to the state’s own resources, which stood at Rs 68,300 crore in 2012-13. But, when it comes to total resources (state’s own resources, share in central taxes, grants in aid by the Centre and the borrowings), the city’s share is further down to 15 per cent.
The leaders who are opposed to bifurcation usually cite the tax collections of Hyderabad in support of their argument that the residual Andhra state will not be in a position to pay salaries to its employees as the capital city alone accounts for 40 per cent of the state’s own revenues.
However, officials now say these old figures are simply based on the location of payment of taxes by companies and do not reflect the actual revenue generation pattern.
“For instance, all oil companies pay value added tax (VAT) on petroleum products in Hyderabad as their head offices are located here. Once the state is divided, they will have to pay the tax to the respective states based on the actual consumption in the new jurisdictions,” a senior finance department official said.
Commercial tax (VAT) revenues based on the actual consumption patterns of goods and commodities by the people are heavily concentrated in Seemandhra (48 per cent) and Hyderabad (up to 27 per cent) leaving just around 21 per cent to the nine districts of Telangana region, according to the officials. Commercial taxes form over 50 per cent of the state’s own resources while close to 30 per cent of the total VAT revenues come from the sale of petroleum products.
The finance department’s numbers pertaining to the state’s own resources (tax and non-tax) are like this. Seemandhra and Telangana (minus Hyderabad) contributed Rs 32,000 crore and Rs 21,000 crore respectively while the capital city’s share under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits stood at Rs 15,300 crore to the state’s own resources.
These revelations also refute the frequent comments being made by Telangana supporters that the Seemandhra region had been fed by the resources generated and owned by the Telangana region. According to the new figures, about 47 per cent of the state’s own resources come from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts almost came close to the half-way mark.
The report, covering total resources, was submitted to the Group of Ministers (GoM) dealing with the bifurcation issue. Of the total resources, Seemandhra accounted for 52 per cent share or Rs 66,152 crore, 48 per cent or Rs 61,414 crore came from Telangana with Hyderabad. Minus Hyderabad, the nine districts of Telangana accounted for Rs 41,391 crore and Hyderabad, the tenth district, provided Rs 20,022 crore - a little over 15 per cent.
The state’s own resources were computed according to the actual district-wise revenue generation data. On the other hand, the share in the remaining resources was calculated on the basis of population in the respective regions. This has further changed the final picture on how much resources both the regions will have at their command post division.
According to the latest population census, AP has a population of about 84.6 million. Of this, 42 per cent are in Telangana and 58 per cent are in Seemandhra regions. The Seemandhra leaders are pitching for an equal share in resources generated by the capital city for the next 10 years despite Hyderabad’s status as a part of Telangana.
