Telangana Minister for Finance Eatala Rajender has justified budgetary provisions made for various programmes and schemes reassuring that the State Government is committed to fulfil all promised made to people as part of transforming the State into ‘Bangaru Telangana’. In his reply to the debate on budget in the Assembly on Friday, the Minister said the budget would give direction to the nascent State to realise its dreams. He reiterated that it was not a private company’s budget and it had a humane angle.
He said discrimination had begun with the appointed day itself when Telangana was given an opening balance of Rs.2,544.78 crore against over Rs. 3,000 crore. On mobilisation of funds for budget, the Minister detailed that State’s own Tax Revenue (SoTR) was expected to be about Rs.35,378 crore including sales tax of Rs.26,963 crore, excise duty of Rs.2,824 crore, motor vehicles tax of Rs.2,225 crore, stamps and registration duty of Rs.2,584 crore, profession tax of Rs. 278 crore and others Rs. 518 crore.
Similarly, the non tax revenue collection was estimated at Rs.13,242 crore and grants-in-aid of Rs.21,720.71 crore, funding of Rs.11,775 crore for Centrally-assistance State plan scheme and expecting Rs. 5,000 crore as special package/additional funding as per the Reorganisation Act, Mr. Rajender explained.
As per FRBM, the State could borrow Rs.12,700 crore and about Rs.2,400 crore loans from Centre, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and Nabard.
The Minister sought to know in what way the Opposition parties were viewing the budget as unscientific and imaginary.
Including Rs.67,000 debt passed on by combined State it was only 19 per cent of GSDP against the permissible limit of over 27 per cent. However, the borrowing limit for this year was only 3 per cent of GSDP.
Mr. Rajender also highlighted the government’s commitment to fulfil promises.
