Rama Krishna Sangem
A Revanth Reddy led Congress government in Telangana has presented a Rs 2.91 lakh crore budget for 2024-25 in the assembly on July 25, Thursday. This takes into consideration of Rs 31,000 crore estimated to be needed for waiver of farmers’ loans up to Rs 2 lakh. This farmer loan waiver is a promise the Congress made to people before the assembly elections December 2023.
Deputy CM and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka presented the budget in the assembly, while Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu did the same in the legislative council. CM Revanth Reddy and his ministers and treasury benches MLAs cheered the budget, while Opposition Leader and former CM KCR said it lacked sum and substance.
The Congress-led Telangana government also prioritised fiscal prudence over excessive public spending-led growth. Bhatti Vikramarka said, “Our government has focused attention on the repayment of loans passed on by the irresponsible previous government… We have raised loans of Rs 35,118 crore, whereas we have repaid loans of Rs 42,892 crore.”
He, however, added that the Congress government never ignored the welfare of the people in Telangana despite the extremely difficult financial situation. The government spent Rs 34,579 crore on various schemes from December until now, said Bhatti while presenting the first full Budget of a Congress-led government since the formation of Telangana.
Major allocations
Rs 26,000 crore allocated to the irrigation department; Rs 40,000 crore for welfare schemes. Rs 3,065 crore to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Rs 500 crore to Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority.
Rs 33,124 crore allocation to SC/ST Fund Monitoring for SC welfare and Rs 12,056 crore for ST welfare. Rs 2.4 crore for Tablighi Jamat meeting in Vikarabad district; Rs 4.43 crore for Haj pilgrimage. Rs 3,003 crore allocation for the minority welfare department. Rs 72,659 crore for the agriculture sector. Rs 21,292 crore for the education department. Rs 29,816 crore for the Panchayati Raj department
Rs 6.71 lakh crore debt
In his Budget speech, Bhatti said that Telangana was under a debt of Rs 6.71 trillion until December 2023. “The biggest challenge in front of us was the debt the state incurred when the Congress came to power,” he added. “The Congress government has paid off Rs 42,892 crore debt until now and has taken a debt of Rs 35,118 crore,” Bhatti told the House.
Meanwhile, Bhatti also said that the government is systematically garnering the necessary funds of Rs 31,000 crore needed for the Runa Mafi scheme. He cited that Rs 6,035 crore was transferred in one stroke to the accounts of 11.34 lakh farmers towards Runa Mafi (loan waiver) on July 18. The rest of the loans up to Rs 2 lakh will also be waived off soon, he assured farmers.
A day before the Union Budget, CM Revanth Reddy, who assumed office in December 2023, strongly voiced his disappointment, claiming that Telangana has been left out of the Union Budget. “The NDA government espoused a vindictive attitude towards Telangana,’ said the chief minister, pointing to a glaring omission of the state’s name throughout the budget speech.
