Shabbir Slams Centre For Slashing Telangana Share In Union Budget

Hyderabad, Feb.2 (Maxim News): Accusing BJP govt at Centre of doing injustice to TS in Union Budget, senior Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir said that CM KCR take an all-party delegation to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi over State’s financial expectations with the Centre in the year 2020-21.

In a statement, Shabbir Ali said the BJP government has been neglecting Telangana ever since it came to power in 2014. He said Telangana neither benefited from any flagship scheme of the Union Government nor it received any Central assistance for State’s projects. Instead, the Centre has slashed the State’s share in Central Taxes and avoided releasing the dues.

“In 2019-20 Union budget, Telangana was assured of Rs 19,718 crore as its share in Central taxes. In the Revised Estimates, it has been reduced to Rs 15,987 Crore. This was a straight reduction of Rs 3,731 Crore or almost 18.9%. Further, for 2020-21, only Rs 16,726 Crore has been earmarked. The Central Government owes an explanation on why Telangana is being discriminated,” he said.

The Congress leader also blamed the TRS Government for not pressurizing the Centre over fulfilment of promises made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and other benefits. “Not a single project from Telangana received Central funding during the last six years. Going by the present attitude of the BJP Govt, it is most unlikely that the promises which were made with Telangana will be fulfilled.

The TRS government was equally responsible for the present situation as it failed to make timely representations with the Centre, he said, adding that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao focussed more on increasing the borrowing limits for Telangana than seeking direct funding from the Centre. Consequently, State Government borrowed over Rs 2.5 lakh crore from different agencies pushing the entire State into a huge debt trap while the Centre washed off its hands by giving a meagre share in Central taxes.”

Similarly, he said, the Budget Speech claimed that farmers’ income will be doubled by 2022. He pointed out that the NITI Aayog, in its report said that it took 22 years to double farmers’ income at an annual growth rate of 3.31% during 1993-1994 to 2015-16 and doubling farmers’ income between 2015-16 and 2022-23 will require an annual growth rate of 10.4% in farmers’ real income. He said that the government has not released any data on farmers’ income growth rate after 2013 and therefore, it is it unclear exactly what the Central Government wishes to double the income from. He reminded that the BJP, in its manifesto for 2014 election, had assured farmers of 50% profits on their production cost. But in 2019, the same BJP asked farmers to wait until 2022 to have their incomes doubled.

Shabbir Ali also condemned the BJP Government for no significant increase in the budget for Minorities Welfare. As against Rs 4,700 crore in 2019-20, this year Rs 5,029 crore have been earmarked with an increase of Rs 329 crore. He also said nearly 71% of the budget allocated in 2019-20 remained unspent. Therefore, he demanded that the BJP Government give an assurance on 100% utilisation of allocations made for the welfare of SC, ST, OBC, minorities and other sections. (Maxim News)