Telangana is the richest, exults Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao

Hyderabad: Stating that his claims during the 15-year-long Telangana movement that Telangana state would be a revenue surplus state and that funds were being siphoned off to AP had proved to be true, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said in the Assembly on Monday that the plan and non-plan Budget would run up to Rs 6 lakh crore and even more in the next five years.

The CM announced that the government would follow the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka models to ensure promised reservations for Muslims and STs including special BC category for Muslims to avoid legal hurdles, by passing a resolution in the Assembly and leading an all-party delegation to the Centre to get special permission.

He said the government would go by Rule 371D to provide fee reimbursement and for identification of locals, and promised to fill one lakh jobs for Telanganites in two years after going through the Kamalanathan Committee report. “I am happy that what Telanganites have been saying during the last 15 years has come true. The XIVth Finance Commission said only Gujarat and Telangana, were revenue surplus states in the country,” he remarked. “Our stand has been vindicated. TS funds were looted for the Andhra region. Ours is the richest state. Our GSDP per capita is Rs 1.03 lakh as against the national average of Rs 74,920. We are above the national average,” he remarked in the Assembly amidst thumping of desks from ruling party members.

Planned Budget at Rs 2.25 lakh crore

Telangana will have a Rs 3.75 lakh crore non-plan Budget.

“We will have Rs 3.75 lakh crore non-plan Budget which will be utilised for welfare schemes like fee reimbursement, pensions etc., and Rs 2.25 lakh crore plan budget in five years,” Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao explained, adding that priority would be on welfare, irrigation, water grid, Mission Kakatiya, health, green cover etc.

Rejecting the objection of opposition parties, the CM said the government would go ahead with construction of the new Secretariat at the Chest and TB Hospital in one and a half years by allocating Rs 200 crore in this budget.

Replying to a motion of thanks to the governor’s address to the joint session in the Assembly on Tuesday, the Chief minister took pot shots at his AP counterpart Mr Chandrababu Naidu, the Opposition and made a series of announcements on the government policies but refrained from going into details since Finance Minister Mr Etela Rajender will present 2015-2016 budget on Wednesday, which will be of Rs 1 lakh crore, it is learnt.

The CM also said that the government would take over the Nizam Sugar Factory (NSF) units and hand them over to farmers who had recently visited Maharashtra to acquaint themselves with co-op sugar factories there.

“Some members got it wrong on the central devolution of funds and said that the Centre had done injustice to us. In fact, we got about Rs 3000 crore more and it will be Rs 15000 crore in five years. It is obvious that the poor states get more support,” he added.

The government will also ask the Centre to increase FRBM from the present 3 per cent to 3.5 per cent, which would ensure Rs 16,000 crore.

Talking about how the state had to cope with problems after formation, he said the Centre’s decision to cut 40 per cent of the plan size had affected the state.

The state did not take up sale of government lands, which it had planned to get Rs 6500 crore, since the market was in a slump. “There is a realty boom again in and around Hyderabad now but we are not in a hurry to sell government lands,” he added.