VIJAYAWADA: The State government is set to table the budget for the last four months of the financial year 2024-25 (December-March) in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) will decide the duration of the Assembly session.
After getting approval from the State Cabinet on Monday, Minister of Finance Payyavula Keshav will present the budget in the Assembly. According to sources, the outlay of the full-fledged budget is expected to be between Rs 2.7 lakh crore and Rs 2.9 lakh crore, with a focus on covering expenditures for the last quarter of the current fiscal year.
Allocations for welfare programmes and promises made in the election manifesto, including the Super Six guarantees, are likely to be announced. Budgetary provisions will also be made for Deepam 2.0 scheme, which was launched on Diwali day (October 31). Additionally, significant allocations are expected for Amaravati, Polavaram, and other crucial infrastructure projects.
Ahead of the elections, the previous government, led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, had introduced a vote-on-account with an outlay of Rs 2.86 lakh crore. A sum of Rs 1,09,052 crore was approved for the period from April to July.
An ordinance was promulgated on July 31, allowing the TDP-led NDA government to allocate funds for four months from August 1 to November 30. With an outlay of Rs 1.29 lakh crore, the Andhra Pradesh Appropriation (Vote-on-Account No. 2) Ordinance, 2024 covered grants allocated to 40 government departments.
Besides the budget, key bills, including Land Grabbing Act (Prohibition) 1982 Repeal Bill, AP Judicial Preview Act Repeal Bill, new Land Grabbing (Prohibition) 2024 Bill, are likely to be tabled during the Assembly session.
Land grabbing, other bills likely to be introduced
The new bill to prevent land grabbing was discussed at length during the recent Cabinet meeting. The Council of Ministers have asserted that the new Act will be a landmark in the annals of the State.
Post the Cabinet meeting, Revenue Minister Anagani Satyaprasad had stressed that the new Act will safeguard lands belonging to the rightful owners. He had observed that as the value of lands in the State increased, land grabbers and encroachers also increased.
It has been learnt that since the new government took over, 80% of the complaints received by the Revenue Department were related to land.
The Assembly session is also expected to introduce bills for enhancing the retirement age of judicial staff under the State government’s purview to 61 years. It will also introduce a bill to repeal the Act brought in by the previous dispensation for government-run liquor shops. The present government had already issued an ordinance cancelling the same as part of the new excise policy. A bill on liquor prices and quality parameters is also likely to be introduced.
Meanwhile, the Assembly will be lacking a voice of the opposition, as the YSRC has decided to boycott the session. YSRC president and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had said that he would address media conferences to raise people’s issues.