Hyderabad: Minister for Transport Ponnam Prabhakar on Tuesday held the central government responsible for Telangana’s annual ₹7,000 crore loss under the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework.
Speaking at Gandhi Bhavan, he demanded that the Centre take immediate responsibility and compensate the state for the revenue shortfall. Ponnam criticised the central government’s GST policy, saying it sends a message akin to “let yourself perish.”
He accused the Centre of shifting the full weight of welfare schemes onto state governments, while continuing to collect multiple cesses. Recalling the original GST agreement, he said the Centre had promised to compensate states for losses over a ten-year period a commitment that remains unfulfilled.
“The Telangana state is currently facing a revenue loss of ₹7,000 crore due to the newly revised GST framework. The central government needs to clarify how it plans to compensate for these losses,” he said.
Ponnam urged Union Ministers from Telangana, including Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, to take up the issue with central authorities. He also accused BJP leaders of misleading the public by claiming GST benefits the destitute.
He said GST had in fact imposed an additional burden through its slab-based taxes, and that the supposed reductions were merely election theatrics. “The destitute have not gained anything from this system,” he added.