Telangana budget for the forthcoming financial year of 2020-21 has no connection with either the proclamations made by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao or the Telangana Rastra Samithi’s manifesto as it is full of false narratives and only meant to hoodwink different sections of society like farmers, unemployed, government staff, workers, BCs, SC/STs and others, charged BJP president K. Laxman.
He told a press conference that the budget presented by Finance Minister T. Harish Rao was nothing but a jugglery of figures without indicating how the gap in proposed expenditure plans of up to ₹33,191 crore will actually be carried out. When the government claims income to be ₹2,28,216 crore, why does it shy away from stating that ₹91,000 crore is debt, he questioned.
Mr. Laxman pointed out that the debt had reached ₹2.39 lakh crore from ₹70,000 crore in 2014 and this showcased the TRS rule in the last five years. He demanded that the Chief Minister explain about the free reimbursement scheme glitches, delays in two-bedroom housing, no headway in free education from KG to PG, no word on employees pay revision commission or their retirement age enhancement, about reduced allocation to health, education as well as for BCs and SC/STs.
Allocation of little over ₹10,000 for Education Department only covers expenditure on salaries and the government is yet to notify teachers recruitment, he said and sought details on how many households — rural or urban — have been getting potable water after Mission Bhagiratha was taken up. Not even mentioning the Centre’s assistance in several welfare and infrastructure projects was not fair, he felt.
The BJP leader sought clarity on whether the government thinks there is a recession and if so, why has it projected high growth rates and more income next year. “Six months ago the government cut the budget by ₹40,000 crore due to economic recession and it is now showing high figures claiming to have overcome it after making a big fuss over the Centre not allocating ₹3,000 crore,” he added.
