HYDERABAD: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments are all set to get their due share of funds in the 14th Finance Commission as per their priorities. The Commission will make two separate awards to the two States.
The full committee of the 14th Finance Commission will visit both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states in September or October to take separate memorandums from the respective governments.
This was confirmed by the Finance Commission secretary AN Jha and advisor Pinaki Chakraborty.
The visit of the 14th Finance Commission will be only after the both the States presented their budgets.
The Finance Commission should make its report available by October 31, 2014. The report will cover a period of five years from April 1, 2015. Sources said the visit of Finance Commission secretary and advisor was only to acquaint themselves with the finance secretaries of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The full committee headed by the Finance Commission chairman will make his visit later, sources said. The visit of the Finance Commission assumes significance as it received the memorandum of United AP government in September, 2013, during its visit to Hyderabad.
At that time, the TRS leaders wanted the Finance Commission to come to the State again as the Telangana state was being formed. “The priorities listed out in the memorandum submitted by United AP will not be acceptable to Telangana. If the State is formed, the Finance Commission should visit the T-state,” the TRS leaders demanded then.
Based on this, the Commission, which almost completed the visits to States, has decided to take two separate memorandums from both the States.
The fresh visit of the 14th Finance Commission was mentioned in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, too. “On the appointed day, the President shall make a reference to the 14th Finance Commission to take into account the resources available to the successor States and make separate awards for each of the successor States,” as per the 46(1) of the AP Reorganisation Act.
“The Commission will visit both the States most probably in September,” an official in the Telangana Finance Department told Express. The Telangana government will present its first budget in July or August, sources said. “Once we have presented our budget and listed out our priorities, then we have to approach the Finance Commission,” an official of Telangana said.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said AP budget would not be presented in the first session of the Assembly. “We have time till September, the budget will be presented in the second session,” Ramakrishnudu said.