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Telangana govt presents 2.91 lakh-cr budget, agriculture gets lion’s share

By, Hyderabad
Jul 27, 2024 06:08 AM IST

The total revenue has been estimated at ₹2,90,814 crore, including open market loans of over ₹57,000 crore

Telangana finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Thursday presented a 2.91 lakh crore state budget for 2024-25 in the assembly, with the total revenue expenditure expected to be 2.21 lakh crore and capital expenditure 33,487 crore, even as the Congress-led government allocated major chunk to agriculture, panchayati raj and rural development and irrigation departments.

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu presents the state Budget 2024-25, in Hyderabad on Thursday. State Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also seen. (ANI)
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu presents the state Budget 2024-25, in Hyderabad on Thursday. State Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also seen. (ANI)

The total revenue has been estimated at 2,90,814 crore, including open market loans of over 57,000 crore. Stating that the Congress-led state government has accorded top priority to the agriculture sector, Vikramarka, who is also the deputy chief minister, announced that one-third of the budget, amounting to 49,383 crore has been allocated to the sector, bulk of which was earmarked for waiver of crop loans of up to 2 lakh of the farmers.

The state government had released 6,000 crore to clear the loan arrears (up to 1 lakh each) of 1.1 million farmers. “We shall waive the remaining loans up to 2 lakh shortly,” Vikramarka said.

He said the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had spent 80,440 crore towards the Rythu Bandhu scheme, which aimed at providing 10,000 per year to each farmer towards purchase of crop inputs. Though the scheme was intended for farmers only, it was also paid to many ineligible people, including owners of fallow land and real-estate businessmen.

“Our government has replaced Rythu Bandhu scheme with Rythu Bharosa with an intention to benefit the real farmers. The amount under this scheme has been increased to 15,000 per annum,” Vikramarka said. “The guidelines for implementation are being framed after obtaining inputs from farmers, experts and intellectuals.” Stating that his government had inherited a crippled financial position from the previous BRS regime, the minister alleged that the state was pushed into a debt trap during the last 10 years. “We have inherited a legacy of a badly run and maintained state economy. The state was administered like an estate of a private landlord,” he said.

“The state’s debts which were at 75,577 crore at the time of state formation (in June 2014) grew nearly 10 times and reached 6.71 lakh crore without any development proportionate to that,” Vikramarka said.

Since the formation of the Congress government in December last year, it has raised loans of 35,118 crore and repaid loans worth 42,892 crore, the minister said. “In effect, we have repaid a higher amount of 7,774 crore than the loans we have raised and demonstrated our sincerity to the people. The previous government has reduced the government to such a sad state that loans had to be raised to repay loans.”

There was a widespread disparity in terms of income distribution in the state. “Though the state’s per capita income stood at 3.47 lakh in 2023-24, far surpassing the national average of 1.83 lakh, the wealth was not equally spread out. For example, the per capita income of Ranga Reddy district is 9.46 lakh, while in the neighbouring Vikarabad district, it is only 1.80 lakh,” he said.

The key allocations in the budget include 29,816 crore for panchayati raj and rural development, 22,301 crore for irrigation, 11,468 crore for medical and health, 9,200 crore for backward classes welfare; 3,836 crore for the civil supplies department, 2,762 crore for industries, 1,500 crore for the Musi River Front project, and 774 crore for information and technology.

Reacting to the state budget, BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (popularly known as KCR), who stepped into the assembly for the first time as the leader of the opposition, lashed out at the Congress government saying the budget lacked vision.

Describing the budget as “far from reality”, KCR told reporters it lacked substance and failed to present any new initiatives. He said the finance minister lacked any comprehensive understanding of the state’s economy and failed to explain all the budget components.

“There is no mention of any welfare schemes in the budget for any section of people, including the farmers. The government’s approach is detrimental to farmers,” KCR said, adding there were significant gaps in the proposed IT policy.

Highlighting the lack of proper policy frameworks, the opposition leader noted that the budget speech resembled “storytelling” rather than a concrete fiscal strategy.

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