Budget session from today

Vijayawada: The first full-fledged budget session of the TDP-led NDA alliance government will begin on Monday. The session will begin with a joint address of the Governor, followed by the presentation of budget proposals for Rs 2.90 lakh crore for the financial year 2024-2025.

It may be recalled that for the first time in state’s history, two vote-on-account budgets were presented in the Assembly for the first eight months of the current financial year.

The alliance government which wants to balance welfare and development and implement its Super Six promises made during the elections and high rate of liabilities with reduced revenue generation has a tough task ahead. Hence it has made a massive exercise to find avenues to mobilise funds and meet their requirements.

Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav will present his maiden budget on Monday. Before that the Cabinet will give its nod for the budget proposals. It is expected that the Assembly session will continue for 10 or 11 days.

Some of the key areas on which the state government will focus in the next four months is on irrigation projects, laying and repairing of roads, infrastructure development, health and medical sector, welfare schemes like three free gas cylinders, distribution of pensions and payment of salaries in time, etc.

According to the Finance Minister, the government had taken almost five months to present the full-time budget because of the empty coffers it had inherited from the previous government with a low revenue generation. It also had to get grants and funds from the Central government and other financial institutions to put the state economy back on track.

During the five years of the YSRCP rule, state financial position had collapsed. The alliance government now has the responsibility to repay loans of over Rs 10 lakh crore made by the previous regime. The government will give priority to speedy construction of Amaravati, the dream capital of the alliance government and the people of the state. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank had also sanctioned Rs 15,000 crore loan to the state government. It will also give priority to ongoing irrigation projects and speeding up administrative work of the Polavaram project since it is Centrally-funded scheme.

The budget allocations may go upwards of Rs 3 lakh crore for FY25 to key welfare schemes promised by the NDA, most of which are already being implemented. According to sources, the Assembly is also expected to pass a few Bills pertaining to the government’s new policies.