Telangana: Poll-oriented budget focuses on welfare

Hyderabad: The Rs 2.90-lakh crore budget presented by Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Monday shows that it is a clear election-oriented budget. It contains three new schemes and a heavy jump of 400 per cent in the allocation for the Special Development Fund (SDF). In the 2022-2023 budget, the state government had allocated Rs 2,000 crore for SDF but this time it has been hiked to Rs 10,348 crore. This is because, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao during his visits to districts has been announcing liberal grant of funds.

The government also made massive allocations to the I&PR department. It allocated Rs 1,000 crore as against Rs 148 crore in the last budget. This is because it wants to take up massive publicity at national level regarding the government's achievements and its schemes as the ruling party has forayed into national politics. It has announced regularisation of 12,000 contract employees from April 1. This has been a long-pending demand. To attract the farmers, the government announced that it would waive off farm loans up to Rs 90,000. In phase 1, loans of Rs 1 lakh were waived off.

Among the two new schemes, the government announced are KCR Nutrition Kit which would benefit four lakh women. The second scheme was Rs 3 lakh for construction of houses if one has a plot. The housing scheme will benefit 3,000 beneficiaries in every assembly constituency.

For the first time in the last 8 years, the government allocated Rs 500 crore exclusively for the development of infrastructure in the universities, including hostels and construction of new buildings. It has also focussed on rural roads and allocated Rs 2,000 crore as against Rs 1,000 crore last year. As far as Rythu Bandhu is concerned, the increase has been nominal Rs 2,750 crore. The allocation this year is Rs 15,075 crore as against Rs 14,800 crore. It also increased subsidies for power and rice. Education and health too got increased allocations.

Allocations for all welfare schemes, including scholarships, Kalyana Lakshmi and Shadi Mubarak were marginally higher than last year. The minister said that the recruitment of 80,039 posts in different categories was already in progress and Rs 1,000 crore will be spent as salaries for newly recruited employees in the new financial year. Honorarium of Anganwadi teachers and Asha workers has also been increased.

The Panchayat Raj wing got the highest allocations of Rs 31,426 crore followed by Irrigation (Rs 26,885 crore), Agriculture (Rs 26,831 crore), R&B (Rs 22,260 crore) and SC development department Rs 21,000 crore.