Lagatar24 Desk
Hyderabad: Telangana’s debt has surged tenfold since the state’s formation, escalating from Rs 75,577 crore in 2014 to Rs 6,71,751 crore for the fiscal year 2023-24, according to Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. This revelation came as the Congress government presented its budget on Wednesday.
Vikramarka criticized the previous administration for allowing debt to balloon without corresponding development. He described this as a significant challenge for the Congress government, which assumed power in December. The current administration has prioritized controlling “frivolous expenditure” and managing salaries for the state’s 3.69 lakh government employees and 2.87 lakh pensioners, starting from March this year.
The Congress government has taken several measures to address the fiscal situation, including raising loans amounting to Rs 35,118 crore and repaying Rs 42,892 crore. The budget also allocates funds for various welfare schemes, such as free travel for women in government buses, free electricity up to 200 units, and support for farmers under the Rythu Bharosa scheme. Capital expenditure has reached Rs 19,456 crore.
In a bid to bolster employment, Vikramarka announced that appointment orders for 31,768 new government jobs have been issued. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy praised the budget as “welfare and farmer-friendly,” emphasizing significant allocations to agriculture and allied sectors, including a farm loan waiver of Rs 2 lakh.
Key allocations include:
- Rs 72,659 crore for agriculture
- Rs 33,124 crore for SC welfare
- Rs 29,816 crore for rural development
- Rs 22,301 crore for irrigation projects
- Rs 16,410 crore for power companies and discoms
- Rs 17,056 crore for ST welfare
- Rs 9,200 crore for backward classes welfare
- Rs 11,468 crore for medical and health
- Rs 5,790 crore for roads and buildings
- Rs 9,564 crore for police and home department
- Rs 2,762 crore for industries
- Rs 774 crore for IT
- Rs 2,736 crore for women and child welfare
Additional allocations include Rs 1,064 crore for forest and environment, Rs 10,000 crore for Hyderabad development, and Rs 1,525 crore for the Region Ring Road around Hyderabad. The government has also set aside Rs 723 crore for subsidized LPG cylinders and Rs 2,418 crore for free electricity up to 200 units, with Rs 3,003 crore allocated for minority welfare.
Vikramarka criticized the previous administration under K. Chandrashekar Rao for failing to transform Telangana into “Bangaru (golden) Telangana” as promised, asserting that the state was reduced to a dire condition due to the enormous loan burden. He defended the Congress government’s efforts, asserting fiscal discipline while disproving critics’ claims of its inability to fulfill election promises.