The Rs 2,91,159-crore first budget of the Congress government in Telangana is quite attractive at first glance. Finance Minister M Bhatti Vikramarka, while complaining of a legacy debt burden of Rs 6.71 lakh crore, still made generous allocations to big-ticket schemes, rural water supply, and improving infrastructure in Hyderabad—striking a balance between welfare and development.
Of the total outlay, revenue expenditure is projected to be Rs 2,20,945 crore and capital expenditure Rs 33,487 crore. In this, a lion’s share of Rs 72,659 crore has been set aside for agriculture to fund the state’s ambitious welfare schemes, including a crop loan waiver that alone works out to Rs 31,000 crore. The intention to execute priority irrigation projects is significant, as is the decision to join the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana since crop insurance has been a major problem for the farming community.
But the million-rupee question is whether the revenue receipts would be up to the expectations. The budget estimates that the total revenue receipts would be about Rs 2,90,814 crore, including public debt of Rs 62,112 crore. Of the total revenue expenditure, public disbursements account Rs 17,001 crore, including debt repayment of Rs 13,117 crore. The actual receipts might fall short of the estimates. In 2023-24, as per the revised estimates, the receipts stood at Rs 2,26,095 crore against the anticipated Rs 2,89,672 crore—a substantial shortfall.
Already burdened under the weight of the `6-lakh-crore debt, the state government may be averse to go in for additional loans in case the revenue receipts do not match up to expectations. The only other alternative for the state is monetising its assets. But going by history, getting a good price depends on the prevailing macroeconomic trends. In such a case, the finance minister would have to do a tightrope walk by pruning the size of the welfare schemes despite the risk of being taken to task by the opposition and the people.
On the bright side, the government has sought to walk the talk on making Hyderabad, the crest jewel of Telangana, into a world-class city. The proposal to extend the metro to the Old City and the airport is surely the need of the hour. Similarly, getting the new Hyderabad Disaster Relief and Asset Protection Agency operational is a welcome step.