Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir sought to question the State Budget at close to ₹ 1.5 lakh crore with no additional income from any source except Excise.
Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh competed with each other in inflating their respective budgets, he remarked, comparing them with the budgets presented in the joint State.
Mr. Shabbir, in his address during the debate on Appropriation Bill, raised questions about the interest on crop loans which was to be waived and the losses accrued by the discoms.
The Government is buying power spending ₹ 10,000 crore, but how does it plan to repay, he asked, and said not a single megawatt of power was added by the TSGENCO, though the Government is projecting the improved power situation as its achievement.
Allocation for agriculture has been brought down as percentage of the total, while source of funding for double bedroom houses is not yet clear. He cited the CAG report to mention that health and education were being totally neglected by the Government.
Though special development fund has been legislated, it should not be forgotten that the Chief Minister has not conducted even one review meeting over the sub-plan expenditure, he said.
Despite the Government’s claims, the State’s rank in investments and IT exports is not as good, he pointed out. To eradicate unemployment, the Government should promote bankable schemes and offer training to youth towards entrepreneurship.
He questioned the closure of Nizam Sugar Factory and Sirpur-Kagaznagar paper mill.
