Telangana budget Welfare to get priority

SNCN ACHARYULU
Hyderabad

The BRS government has started the exercise to prepare the last annual budget of its current term. Before Telangana Assembly elections this will be the last budget of the BRS government. The government is planning to hold the Assembly’s budget session in the first week of February.

The finance department had asked all departments to submit their budget proposals by January 13. The finance department has directed all departments to keep in view the financial limitations of the state while submitting budget proposals.

The Centre has decided to present the annual budget for 2023-24 on February 1 in Parliament. After going through the Central budget the BRS government will finalise its budget.

Sources said this time also the Assembly session may start by presenting the annual budget for 2023-24. This budget is crucial for the BRS as it is going to face Assembly elections.

The financial curbs imposed by the Centre have tied the BRS government’s hands in providing liberal budget allocations. As this is an election year the BRS government will give top priority to welfare schemes. Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu, Girijana Bandhu, social pensions and housing programmes will get priority in the budget.

The BRS government was not able to spend the money allotted in the 2022-23 budget due to the financial crunch. It had presented a budget with an expected income of Rs 2,56,9580 crore for 2022-23. But due to Central policies, the BRS government was not able to raise adequate funds.

In a recent review meeting officials told KCR that the state government was supposed to get Rs 40,000 crore this financial year from the Centre as per FRBM rules.The Centre has also reduced the borrowing limits of the TS government. Initially, the Centre had fixed Rs 54,000 crore as the borrowing limit in this fiscal but later it was cut to Rs 39,000 crore.

In these circumstances preparing a liberal budget in this election year has become an uphill task for the BRS government.