Interim Budget to be around 2.26 lakh cr

Amaravati: The state government’s vote-on-account budget-2019, to be presented to Assembly by finance minister on Tuesday is expected to be to the tune of Rs 2.26 lakh crore. The finance minister will place the budget in Assembly at 11.35 am. Before that, the budget proposals will be approved by the AP Cabinet at around 8 am in a meeting in the Assembly meeting hall.

Though it is Vote-on-Account budget, the TDP government aims to announce new schemes in it like direct benefit to the farmers, doubling of benefits being given to the unemployed youth and others. Ramakrishnudu, finance department principal secretary Ravi Chandra, Planning Board vice-chairman Ch Kutumba Rao and others calculated the final figures on each welfare scheme at the Secretariat amidst tight security on Monday.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu finalised the budget figures and speech of Ramakrishnudu after his return from New Delhi late in the night.
As the Chief Minister has already distributed the cheques to the tune of roughly Rs 9,500 crore to Self-Help Group members under the Pasupu Kunkuma scheme, the state government is going to place the same proposals in the Assembly along with the budget proposals.

In fact, the Pasupu Kunkama-2 was not approved by the Assembly, but implemented with a mere decision of the Cabinet. Now, the state government has to bring a special proposal to the House under re-appropriation for already spent money.

The government also have to take the approval from the Assembly for already enhanced pension amount under the NTR Bharosa pensions scheme. The Chief Minister has been trying to address the problems of the tenant farmers also, apart from the land owners.