Debate on Budget: CM Rejects Cong Allegations

Hyderabad, Feb.23 (Maxim News): Congress leader and former minister D. Sridhar Babu on Saturday started a discussion on behalf of the party on the vote-on-account-budget presented by the State government. He tried to corner the State government over Power and Panchayat Raj funds.

Sridhar Babu also leveled several allegations against the State government in an attempt to highlight its failures. However, Leader of the House and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao shot back saying the allegations made by the Congress leader are false.

Initiating discussion in the House, Sridhar Babu said it would have been better if the State government had introduced a full fledged budget. He criticized the State government for not tabling Economic Survey report in the current session. While noting that economic survey was the best indicator to tell the people of the State about the current status of the State. He also alleged that the State government had failed in bringing funds from the Centre to Telangana for its development had also failed in fulfillment of its assurances made to the people from the center.

He said the State government had borrowed Rs 90,000 crore during the last four years. While noting that all the power generation plants were initiated during Congress rule, he said the steps initiated by the State government in the power sector had not yet seen the light of the day. He also alleged that the State government had utilized funds sanctioned by the 14th Finance Commission to clear electricity charges of the village panchayats. Noting that the loan waiver to farmers was done for four terms, Sridhar babu said red jowar and chilly farmers were agitating for remunerative prices. He demanded that the State government extend Rythu Bandhu scheme to tenant farmers besides demanding Interim Relief to the State government employees while welcoming the decision of the State government to implement unemployment wage.

Replying to the allegations made by the Congress leader, CM KCR claimed that they did not take any funds from the village panchaayts and added that it was their responsibility to transform all village panchayats and other local bodies into wonderful entities. He said that all kinds of arrears of the local bodies were made during the Congress rule and added that they would clear off all those dues. He also questioned the Congress whether there was solar power during their rule while noting that the State was now producing 3600 MW of solar power in the State. He also said that Telangana topped the list of States in the net power usage utilization. Alleging that the Congress leader Sridhar Babu was misleading the House, the Chief Minister made it clear that they would not allow any kind of irregularities in the State.

Earlier, the Chief Minister tabled a bill in the House seeking approval for supplementary allocations for financial year 2018-19. On the other hand, Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao introduced a bill for making amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act of the State while Commercial Taxes Minister V. Prashant Reddy introduced another bill seeking amendment of existing GST Act. (Maxim News)