Budget fell short of people’s expectations: APCC vice chief

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) Vice-President Kolanukonda Shivaji expressed his dissatisfaction with the budget presented by Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav in the Assembly on Monday, describing it as falling below the expectations of the public.
The budget, with an outlay of over Rs 2.94 lakh crore, was merely a “jiggery of figures,” Shivaji commented, adding that there was a significant mismatch between the promises made and the actual allocations. He highlighted that the budget did not reflect the priorities set out by the ruling parties during the election campaign.
Shivaji recalled the TDP’s ‘Super Six’ promises, which he claimed were largely ignored in the budget. He pointed out that while the Finance Minister did mention an assurance to launch free bus travel for women, no specific timeline or funding had been allocated for it. Similarly, he noted that the TDP and Jana Sena had promised Rs 3,000 in unemployment dole for 20 lakh jobless youth, but no funds had been allocated for this either. Additionally, the promise to disburse Rs 1,500 per month to women above the age of 18 was also conspicuously absent from the budget.
Shivaji further criticised the allocation of just Rs 16,705 crore for the irrigation sector, calling it inadequate. He also pointed out that the Finance Minister failed to clarify whether the Rs 15,000 crore promised by the Centre for capital city development would be provided as a grant or loan. The absence of funds for the repair and reconstruction of roads was another major point of contention.
The Congress leader also took issue with the Finance Minister’s failure to address the arrears in free reimbursement schemes, which have been a longstanding concern for the state’s students.
“Moreover, Payyavula Keshav has presented a budget with a Rs 32,000 crore gap between income and expenditure, without offering a clear explanation of how this deficit will be bridged,” Shivaji said, adding that the heavy loans taken by the previous YSRCP government were continuing to haunt the state. The Congress leader lamented that the government would have to repay over Rs 50,000 crore in loans and interest, exposing the fragile financial position of the state.
On the agriculture budget, Shivaji pointed out that while the TDP had promised to provide Rs 20,000 as input subsidy to each eligible farmer, the government had only allocated Rs 4,500 crore for the scheme. “There are over 52 lakh farmers in the state, and if each is to receive Rs 20,000, the total disbursement would be over Rs 10,000 crore. So how can the government fulfil its promise with just Rs 4,500 crore?” he questioned.
Shivaji concluded by advising the government to take urgent steps to reduce the burden of loans and work towards creating a more sustainable and robust financial system for the state.