Telangana Budget: Expenditure pegged at Rs 2.75 lakh crores; Rs 53,196 crores to fulfil six guarantees

Hyderabad: An interim budget (vote on account) with an estimated spending of Rs 2,75,891 crores for the financial year 2024-25 was introduced by Telangana deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka in the Telangana State Legislative Assembly on Saturday.

In its maiden budget in Telangana, the Congress government has allocated Rs 29,669 crores for capital expenditure (capex), while the anticipated revenue expenditure is Rs 2,01,178 crores.

A staggering amount of Rs 53,196 crores has been set aside by the Congress government to implement its six guarantees. As per the budget, there is a Rs 32,557 crore budget deficit and Rs 5,944 crores in revenue surplus.

As per the revised estimates for the financial year 2023-24, revenue expenditure stood at Rs 1,69,141.47 crores and capital expenditure stood at Rs 24,178.02 crore. The revenue deficit for the period is Rs 33,785.83 crores. However, the deputy chief minister exuded confidence in reducing the fiscal deficit for the 2024-25 financial year.

“Our budget focuses on people’s overall development, progress and their happiness. The budget is to fulfil the Congress government’s commitment to establishing ‘Indiramma Rajyam’ (welfare governance of former prime minister Indira Gandhi) in Telangana. The central focus of the budget is the overall development of Telangana,” said deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka in his budget speech.

Six guarantees

The deputy chief minister said that Rs 53,196 crores has been allocated to implement the six poll guarantees to the people. “This allocation was done as per a preliminary estimate. We are working on formulating the procedures for the guarantees. The total funds required for implementation will be allocated as soon as it is completed,” he said.

Alleging that the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government left the state bankrupt, Bhatti Vikramarka said the burden of unplanned loans now poses a challenge.

“Yet, we will stand by the people with planned developmental goals,” he said. The Congress government is planning to cut down wasteful expenditure in day-to-day government operations and also by curbing expenditure on unwarranted infrastructural assets, he added.

Infrastructure projects

Bhatti Vikramarka said that Rs 1,000 crores will be set aside for Musi River development. Rejuvenating older heritage sites and markets, as well as making the river a growth channel for the entire corridor, are some of the expected benefits of the project.

“We are planning to promote development throughout the urban landscape along the river through developing pedestrian zones, people’s plazas, heritage zones in the Old City, hawkers’ zones, children’s theme parks and entertainment zones,” he said.

The deputy chief minister said that the Musi River and its bank will be beautifully designed in an environment-friendly manner with a comprehensive plan. Conservation of cultural buildings will also be implemented as part of this, he said, and added that there is no doubt that this project will compete with tourist places like Charminar, Hi-Tech city, and Salar Jung Museum in the future.

Farmers’ welfare

Explaining the initiatives being taken for Telangana farmers, Bhatti Vikramarka said that guidelines are being prepared to extend farmers’ assistance assurance to tenant farmers in the state.

“We are committed to providing Rs 15,000 per acre as Rythu Bandhu assistance to farmers. The officials are reviewing the guidelines to identify the beneficiaries of the scheme. Similarly, based on the Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana, the government is going to implement the crop insurance scheme in the state,” he said.

The deputy chief minister also said that steps are being taken to implement the Rythu Bima scheme for tenant farmers as well and necessary guidelines are being prepared.

“We are taking strict measures to curb the sale and usage of substandard and fake seeds. The government will stop any seed dealer who causes loss to the farmers. We are taking steps to achieve progress in developing quality seeds and bring in a new seed system soon,” he said.

Here are the budget allocations for the following departments:

Panchayati Raj - Rs 40,080 crores

Irrigation - Rs 28,024 crores

SC Welfare - Rs 21,874 crores

Education - Rs 21,389 crores

Agriculture - Rs 19,746 crores

Transco and Discoms - Rs 16,825 crores

ST welfare - Rs 13,313 crores

MA&UD - Rs 11,692 crores

Medical and Health - Rs 11,500 crores

BC welfare - Rs 8,000 crores

Indiramma housing scheme - Rs 7,740 crores

Industries - Rs 2,543 crores

Minorities welfare - Rs 2,262 crores

Musi River development - Rs 1,000 crores

IT - Rs 774 crores