There is a buzz in the AP Secretariat at Amaravati that Finance Secretary SS Rawat is going to proceed on a long leave soon. The rumour mill has gone into a tizzy claiming that the state’s dire financial position is getting on the nerves of Rawat, a soft-spoken and no-nonsense officer. Sources close to him say that he has decided to go on a long leave.

AP’s financial position is in dire straits and getting money to pay for the welfare schemes and the salaries of the employees has become a very difficult thing. Every month, the officials and the finance minister are pulling all strings to make both ends meet. Repeated visits to Delhi too are proving to be quite stressful for Rawat, sources said. The finance department has turned out to be the toughest assignment under the Jagan regime. Interestingly, even during the Chandrababu regime, working in the department was extremely stressful due to the huge fund diversion for the welfare schemes.

However, the officials of the finance ministry hotly deny these reports. They claimed that Rawat was working really hard and that he has not taken a leave in the last two-and-a-half years. They admitted that the state does not have enough financial resources and adjusting funds for the welfare schemes was becoming too much of a problem. But, there was no question of Rawat either proceeding on leave or seeking transfer to another department.

Interestingly, there are allegations of late that some employees of the finance ministry were leaking sensitive information about the financial status of the state to media and more importantly to the TDP sources. Already a couple of employees in the finance department have been suspended on the same charges. If sources are to be believed, there is lot of disquiet among the employees of the department over these suspensions. Some say that the finance secretary was worried over the fallout of the suspension and the disquiet in the department.