Brief Telangana budget session from Feb 22

​Hyderabad: A four-day Budget Session of the Telangana State Assembly will commence on February 22, with the government presenting a Vote-on-Account on the opening day and the Appropriation Bill being adopted on the last day. After presentation of the budget, the government will take up a discussion on the proposals.

Following strong indications that the Election Commission could announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections in the last week of February, the state government has decided to hold only a brief budget session. It is understood that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will present the budget in case the long-pending cabinet expansion done not take place before the beginning of the budget session.

The Chief Minister said that the Vote-on-account to be presented to the state assembly will be designed in such a way that it includes the commitments made to the people, with maximum budgetary provisions being made for the welfare of people and development of agriculture. It is expected that the government will project a total outlay of Rs 2.20 lakh crore for FY 2019-20 in its proposals, as against Rs 1.74 lakh crore proposals made for FY 2018-19.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has already announced that Irrigation, Education, Welfare and Health will be accorded priority in the allocation of funds. Officials said that requisite funds will be earmarked for the implementation of the hiked pension amount from April 1 this year.

The increased pensions alone will put Rs 5,000 crore additional burden on the state exchequer every year. The promise of Rs 10,000 per acre, up from the present Rs 8,000, would also entail burden Rs 2,000 crore additionally on the state government. The irrigation sector is likely to get Rs 25,000 crore funds for completion of the irrigation project works.