Budget proposals to reflect people’s needs

The Telangana government is gearing up to finalise its first budget proposals for 2014-15 reflecting the felt needs of the people at village, mandal and district level

The Planning Department issued directives to all the departments to incorporate the proposals sent from panchayats to zilla parishads under the ‘ Mana Vooru – Mana Pranalika’ programme and incorporate them in the departmental budget proposals for Plan schemes. The departmental meetings to discuss and finalise the Plan and Non-Plan budget proposals with the Finance Minister Etela Rajendar are scheduled for August 11 to 13 and 16, sources said.

“This is the first time decentralised planning exercise was launched State-wide to connect plan budget of the State with the actual needs and requirements expressed by people, ” an official said.

The budget preparation exercise deviated this time from the traditional approach of focusing on mere physical infrastructure to the human development infrastructure. Such an approach was insisted by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao as it would pave way for addressing people’s needs and improving HDI parameters like literacy, bringing down infant and mortality rate etc., he added.

The Planning Department will also be organising training programmes for the newly elected representatives of local bodies in the second week of August. According to sources, the proposals received from grass-roots levels alone would require Rs. 50,000 crore. Apart from Rs. 35,000 crore proposals from line departments, Rs.2,000 crore towards additional pensions, provision would have to be made for the loan waiver. The exercise would be all about prioritising the demands in tune with the projected revenue resources.