There is no allocation for Mission Bhagiratha and the two-bedroom housing scheme in the budget.
Telangana Finance Minister Etela Rajender presented the annual budget for 2016-17 in the Telangana Assembly on Monday with a total expenditure of Rs. 1,30,415.87 crores.
The Finance Minister indicated that the Non-Plan expenditure would be Rs. 62,785.14 crores, and the Plan expenditure Rs. 67,630.73 crores.
The budget estimates for the year 2016-17 indicated a revenue surplus of Rs. 3,718.37 crores and a fiscal deficit of Rs. 23,467.29 crores, which is 3.5% of the estimated GSDP, he explained.
Rajender further said that the provisions proposed for the next year and the provisions for this year were not strictly comparable department-wise for two reasons. As part of the rationalization of expenditure, a number of plan schemes with similar activities had been clubbed together in a number of departments, and a few schemes with only a salary expenditure had been shifted to non-plan from plan. Secondly "Mission Bhagiratha" and the two-bedroom housing scheme were proposed to be funded entirely from extra-budgetary resources, he said.
Therefore, the Finance Minister said, no provisions were made under Plan expenditure for these schemes, except for provisions required for counterpart funding. As compared with the Plan expenditure for united AP, the proposed Plan expenditure in Telangana for 2016-17 was higher. This was a record, he observed, and added that cutting down wasteful expenditure, revenue augmentation and enhancing allocations for welfare were the main goals of the government.
Rajender said that the budget was a combination of the statesmanship of Kautilya, the vision of Emperor Ashoka and the common sense of an ordinary housewife in running her household. Telangana had embarked on path-breaking and innovative steps to give the much-needed boost to the economy, which had remained neglected so far, he claimed.
The Finance Minister explained that the reduction in the State's share in tax devolution, the reduction in Plan transfers from the Centre, and additional commitments on account of higher matching contributions for Centrally assisted plan schemes resulted in budgetary constraints for 2015-16. Although a relaxation of borrowing limits by 0.5% of the GSDP as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission had been assured by the Union Government, it had not materialized so far. Assistance for the development of backward areas provided for under the A P Reorganization Act at Rs. 450 crores was also much lower than expected, he lamented.
Rajender said that added to these the new state of Telangana had to face numerous problems of legacy from the combined State in terms of the total neglect of the social, agriculture, irrigation and infrastructure sectors, huge bills left unpaid by the combined State, over 800 Plan schemes most of which had outlived their utility, and a huge power deficit, to mention a few important Factors.
The Finance Minister said that in an unprecedented manner the Chief Minister had himself reviewed the working of each department, the relevance of each scheme in its minutest detail, and the resource potential. Such an exercise was never done in the past, he observed, and added that as a result the budget for 2016-17 was totally transformational, tailored to address the long-pending aspirations of the people of Telangana. Therefore the budget had the mark of the Chief Minister, he said amidst a thumping of desks from the treasury benches.
The government allocated an amount of Rs. 25,000 crores for the construction of various irrigation projects, besides Mission Kakatiya. The Finance Minister noted that such a huge allocation of resources to the irrigation sector was unprecedented, and amply demonstrated the commitment of the TRS Government to provide irrigation waters to the farmers. Out of the proposed outlay of Rs. 25,000 crores, the Finance Minister said that Rs. 7,861 crores was allotted for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation scheme, Rs. 6,286 crores for the Kaleshwaram project and Rs. 1,152 crores for the Sitarama and Bhakta Ramadasu lift irrigation scheme.
The government also reiterated its commitment to providing nine-hour power supply to agriculture from the next Kharif season. Rajender also pointed out that as a result of the steps being taken by the government, including purchase of power to tide over the immediate crisis, power cuts were the thing of the past.
Rajender also reiterated that the government would achieve 100% waiver of farm loans by the next financial year. Farm loan waivers amounting to Rs 17,000 crores were being implemented, and of the four installments, two installments of waivers had been deposited into the bank accounts, he said. The third installment would be released during this year.
Rajender also said that one lakh double bedroom houses would be constructed in the areas covered under the GHMC, and another one lakh in other parts of the State, in 2016-17. The entire cost of the two lakh houses would be met through extra-budgetary resources from HUDCO and other financial institutions, he said. The selection of the beneficiaries would be done in a very transparent manner, without any political or bureaucratic interference, he assured.
The allocations made in the annual budget by the Finance Minister for the year 2016-17 for various sectors and schemes are as follows (all amounts in crores):
BC Welfare - Rs. 2,538
Minority Welfare - Rs. 1,204
SC Welfare - Rs. 7,122
ST Welfare - Rs. 3,752
Aasara Pension Scheme - Rs. 4,693
Kalyana Laxmi - Rs. 738
Town Development - Rs. 4815
Industries - Rs. 967
IT and Information Sector - Rs. 254
Tourism and Cultural Affairs - Rs. 50
Education - Rs. 9,044 under non-plan and Rs. 1,164 under plan
Fire Services - Rs. 223
Health - Rs. 5,967
Agriculture - Rs. 6,759
Women and Child Welfare - Rs. 1,553
Brahmin Welfare - Rs. 100
Roads and Buildings - Rs. 3,333
Panchayat Raj and and Rural Development - Rs. 10,731