Telangana parties express disappointment with budget

The ruling TRS in Telangana said on Friday that no specific benefit has been announced for the state in the Union Budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Seetharaman.

The opposition Congress and TDP have also expressed disappointment with the budget, saying it has made no major announcement for the welfare of farmers and the unemployed.

State BJP president K Laxman, however, hailed the budget, saying it reflected the aspirations of 130 crore people of the country.

"We have given proposals for Kaleshwaram (seeking funds for the irrigation project)... But, nothing specific is given (to Telangana)," former TRS MP B Vinod Kumar told PTI.

The state government had also sought national status to the recently-inaugurated Kaleshwaram project which is described as a boon.

The Centre has prioritised national highways into one and two, but no national highway in Telangana is under category one, Kumar said.

The TRS MPs have submitted Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) vis-a-vis national highways in the state during the last five years, said Kumar, who represented Karimnagar in the previous Lok Sabha.

Upgradation of district hospitals into medical colleges is a good scheme though it does not help Telangana, he said.

The scheme does not benefit the state as there is a medical college in almost every district, he said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked about using CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) funds for provision of safe drinking for every citizen ('Har Ghar Jal' by 2024), but it is difficult to implement as the Supreme Court has issued stringent guidelines on the matter, he claimed.

"No allocation is made to this ambitious programme," Kumar said.

The allocation of around Rs 6,000 crore to the NDA government's health scheme 'Ayushman Bharat' is quite less, he said.

TRS leader in Lok Sabha Nama Nageswara Rao said in Delhi that they expected some benefits to be given for the development of Hyderabad but no such thing happened.

"Overall, we hoped that our state would have much speciality. But, it is true that it has disappointed," he said in Delhi.

Expressing disappointment with the budget, state Congress president and Lok Sabha member N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the budget belied expectations with regard to addressing issues of farmers, unemployment and others.

"The budget is very disappointing. Everybody expected that some great ideas and schemes would be announced to address unemployment, farmers' issues, youth and industries. We feel no great schemes have been announced for women, farmers, youth and other sections of society," he told reporters in Delhi.

TDP politburo member Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy alleged that the budget did not provide any relief to the salaried class. It contained no programmes to make farming profitable.

"This budget helps in the progress of poor and the rural areas. This budget has been introduced specially keeping people from urban areas, middle classes and farmers in view," he told reporters. He dwelt at length on various pro-people announcements in the budget.

Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said in a statement that the budget contained plans for the welfare of all sectors and all sections of people.