AP Budget, A Post-Dated Cheque

Hyderabad: Dubbing the Andhra Pradesh state budget presented in the assembly as a post-dated cheque with no reserves, YSR Congress has said that it’s a mere jugglery of figures.

Speaking to reporters here today, party leader Duvvuri Krishna said that the state budget is just like a mirage and the figures do not add up as there is a yawning gap between the promises and the allocation of funds.

The ever increasing revenue deficit stands as the highlight of the budget with the extravaganza and empty promises as there are no proper allocations in the budget to match the slew of welfare schemes that were announced by Chandrababu Naidu just before the elections to cover up his past failures.

The projection of revenue and expenditure projections are just like a mirage and a jugglery of figures and the promises made to DWACRA groups and other schemes do not reflect in the budget with supporting figures in the form of allocations.

The TDP government is trying to copy the Navaratras announced by our leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and the state has failed to incorporate them in the proper manner in the budget, he said.

The budget of Rs 2.26 lakh crores has a whopping Rs 1.80 lakh crore revenue expenditure and from the paltry Rs 29, 596 crores capital expenditure Rs 8, 994 crore is towards repayment of public debt, which shows that the Chandrababu Naidu has pushed the state into a debt trap, he said.

The growth rate put at 11.5 % is unrealistic as the indicators are not tangible and the much boasted Annadata Sukhibhava scheme has no proper allocation, he said.

Excerpts from the Budget:

-Rs 18000 crore has been allocated to the Agricultural sector and Rs 5000 crore has been allocated to Annadata sukhibhava scheme, but there is no mention of Rs 8,500 crore which is to be released for the loan waiver.

- Under the Yuvanestam, Rs 1,20,000 is yet to be paid to unemployed youth for the past 60 months.

- For the loan waiver under the Pasupu Kunkuma scheme Rs 9,300 crore was supposed to be allocated. But Rs 1,700 crore under 2018-19 budget and Rs 4,000 crore under 2019-20 budget has been allocated.

- Total budget submitted Rs 2,26,700 crore, and after the amount to repay loans is deducted, it stands at Rs 2,11,00 crore.

- 2017-18 budget expenditure was Rs 1,37,484 crore and by 2019-20 it increased to Rs 2,11,000 crore. How can it increase by 1,35,000 crore in such a short time.

- Grants aid by Union government has been mentioned as Rs 65,000 crore but they have never crossed Rs 20,000 crore till now.

- Tax revenue has been increased to Rs 70,000 crore in 2019-20 from Rs 50,000 crore in 2018-19, without offering ways to increase the number.

- The fiscal deficit reported is Rs 33,000 crore, even when there has been increase in the income.

-According to the FRBM law fiscal deficit in the GSDP should be less than 30,000 crore, but the budget says it is Rs 33,000 crore

-According to the revised estimates the revenue deficit is Rs 2,500 crore as per the budget, but in the CAG website for six months it has come down from Rs 9000 crore. This is only possible when the revenue surplus is Rs 6000 crore from Rs 8,500 crore.

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