The Andhra Pradesh government has cracked the whip on three officials from the Finance Department after an inquiry ordered found that they had shared information with the media. A vigilance inquiry was ordered after a series of newspaper articles were published, which according to the government was “sensitive and confidential” data. Nagulapati Venkateshwarlu, Assistant Secretary to government in the Finance Department, Kasireddy Vara Prasad, section officer in the C&DM section of the Finance Department and D Sreeni Babu, section officer in the Finance Department are the three officials who have been suspended.
The government orders released on Wednesday, August 4 mentioned that a vigilance inquiry that was carried out revealed that Nagulapati Venkateshwarlu and Kasireddy Vara Prasad passed on confidential information to D Sreenu Babu who then shared it with the media. The government mentioned that the officers were fully aware of the sensitivity and confidentiality of the information and that they deliberately leaked the information to media houses. The government order restricts the three suspended officers from leaving the headquarters without obtaining prior permission of the competent authority.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh has raised loans worth Rs 15,500 crore through the Andhra Pradesh State Development Corporation (APSDC) by pledging its future tax revenue. YSRCP rebel MP Raghu Ramakrishna Raju wrote to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging financial irregularities in the state. Former Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh IYR Krishna Rao has also alleged that the AP government was using the loans to fund its welfare schemes.
Recently, on July 30, the Union Ministry of Finance wrote to the state government and conveyed that pledging of future tax revenues is “not in consonance” with the Indian constitution. The MoF also sought comments from the Andhra Pradesh state government for several perceived financial irregularities in the state finances.