Telangana Budget: Legislators to get Rs 5 crore each as constituency development fund

The K Chandrasekhar Rao government has enhanced the constituency development fund (CDF) for the state legislators with a proposed allocation of Rs 800 crore in the 2021-22 Budget. Under the scheme, each MLA and MLC would be provided Rs 5 crore in the next financial year, on par with the MPLADS allocation for the Parliament members.

The fund is to be spent towards various developmental, public support activities in an MLA/MLC's constituency.

The CDF was renewed last year with an allocation of Rs 480 crore, rendering Rs 3 crore per legislator. The fund is on the lines of Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) at the central level which has an allocation of Rs 5 crore per MP.

However, in April last year, the Narendra Modi government suspended MPLADS for two years. Instead, the money would be utilised for managing public health and Covid-19's adverse impact on society, the centre said.

The KCR government, which had earlier initiated the construction of offices for the members of the legislature in their respective constituencies, on Thursday, said that the building of such offices was completed in 89 constituencies.

Rs 2.3 lakh crore outlay

Telangana's 2021-22 Budget was presented on Thursday with an outlay of Rs 2.3 lakh crore.

In the state's post-pandemic annual Budget, Finance Minister Harish Rao has made substantial allocations for agriculture and welfare activities.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier said that Telangana has incurred a loss of about Rs 50,000 crore because of Covid-19 and that its overall estimated impact is to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.

The Gross State Domestic Product in 2020-21 is estimated at Rs 9,78,373 crore. The virus and lockdown have adversely impacted the growth of GSDP, which declined from 13.5 per cent in 2019-20 to 1.3 per cent in 2020-21. The national GDP growth declined from 7.8 per cent to -3.8 per cent during the same time.

Nevertheless, the economic activities have revived in recent months, the FM said, expecting “a significant improvement in the GSDP in the next financial year.”

A new scheme named CM Dalit Empowerment Programme has been proposed with an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore. This year, Rs 14,800 crore has been allocated for Rythu Bandhu, the scheme offering Rs 10,000 incentive per acre to farmers for two crop seasons.