Hyderabad: A long list of 35 unresolved concerns submitted by the BRS government to the Centre, along with assurances given to the state by the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014 that are still pending, were not mentioned in the Union Budget 2023.
The state government made a pitch for tribal university in Mulugu, a steel plant at Bayyaram, and a railway coach factory at Kazipet among others, which were all assured under the Reorganisation Act.
The Telangana government claimed that that the increase in the FRBM limit to 3.5 per cent to enable states to borrow more is not beneficial to Telangana as the additional 0.5 per cent limit has been linked to power reforms, which the BRS government has been refusing to implement.
The Union Budget sanctioned Rs 5,500 crore to the Upper Bhadra irrigation project in Karnataka. However, there was no mention of funds to irrigation projects in Telangana, including Kaleshwaram and Palarmur-Rangaredy lift irrigation schemes. The state government demanded allocation of funds for educational institutions of national prominence, such as IIM, NID, IISER, Navodaya, and Kendriya Vidyalayas. However, none of these found a mention in the Union Budget.
IT minister K.T.Rama Rao wrote several letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting for budgetary support for development of industrial corridors, Information Technology Investment Region, Hyderabad Pharma City, mega gandloom/powerloom cluster, mega textile park and other industrial infrastructure development projects.
None of these figured in the Budget. Release of funds to the tune of over Rs 10,000 crore pending with the Centre, including release of dues pertaining the GST compensation and IGST settlement also did not find a mention.
The state government also sought release of a special grant of Rs 723 crore awarded by the 15th Finance Commission towards decline in tax devolution and Rs 965.52 crore awarded by the 14th Finance Commission to rural and urban local bodies. These issues too did not figure in the Budget. Issues like transfer of dues amounting to Rs 495 crore towards the Centrally Sponsored Schemes inadvertently released to Andhra Pradesh in 2014-15 in the first year of bifurcation of state too was ignored.
