Chandrababu Naidu, Yanamala hold discussions on Budget

Vijayawada: The AP finance ministry had received proposals for Budget allocations from across all departments, which amount to a total of Rs 2,35,000 crore. The state government is planning a Budget of Rs 1,50,000 crore, the allocation of which will be prioritised on an outcome-basis.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu met with officials of the finance and planning departments at the Secre-tariat in Velagapudi on Thursday to discuss the Budget for 2017.

Mr Naidu had directed the officials to plan the Bud-get based on the basis of five parameters — Gross Value Added (GVA), Sustainable Developme-nt Goals (SDG), Family Welfare, Social Welfare and Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

He also directed them to work towards attaining a growth rate of 15 per cent for sustainable development. He said the state government was spending the taxpayers’ money, which should be used for development and should be allocated on a priority basis.

Mr Naidu also said that by availing of the Budget allocated by the Union Government for the development of Railways, National Highways, sea ports, and for internal water transportation, and by making use of Centre-sponsored and Centre-supported sche-mes, the state Budget could be distributed and utilised more effectively.

Mr Naidu had set a target revenue of 60 percent for the Horticulture department, which has only managed to reach about 33 per cent so far. He asked officials to create awareness among non-performing departments and to motivate them to set and meet their targets. He suggested that some services be outsourced in order to strengthen the departments.

He mentioned that large amounts of funds were being allocated for Agriculture, Horticulture and Aquaculture as these sectors are a source of livelihood for many people. He also suggested that the state make use of the funds from NERGA for Horticulture. He then discussed the agenda for the meeting that will be held on February 6 with the departmental secretaries and HODs.

Budget disappoints realtors
Revenue from land registrations has decreased this year, and the department may not meet its target. Post demonetisation the number of land agreements registered have fallen, and realtors have no hope of the numbers rising again any time in the near future.

According to sources, the government had set a target of Rs 1,000 crore for two registration districts in East Godavari, of which Kakinada, which consists of 14 sub-registrar offices. It was supposed to earn revenue of Rs 320.12 crore by December 31 but managed Rs 225 crore or  70 per cent. This is against the Rs 211 crore earned last year, or 95 per cent of the '220 crore target for 2015.

The revenue has seen some increase owing to higher stamp duty but the number of registrations has declined. “All registrations were made for agreements finalised earlier. There have not been many new agreements after demonetisation’’ said an official of the stamps and registration department.
When demonetisation was announced, realtors saw it as a temporary hiccup. They said that the real estate was evergreen and had expected favourable decisions in the Budget. Finance minister Arun Jaitely did not oblige them.
“The Budget belied the hopes of the realtors; the real estate sector will not be able to recover for four years. Though the Budget favoured apartment culture, there is no clear indication,’’ said Credai chairman Garapati Rayudu.

He said that builders couldn’t buy sites for the construction but could construct apartments on a development basis.  Sources say that nearly 1,500 acres of land in the district, which was meant for real estate, has to be sold.  “Realtors can’t purchase or set up new ventures at present’’ said Mr V. Subba Raju of Rajahmundry, the venture partner of a realtor.