HYDERABAD: Describing the Budget presented by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka for 2025–2026 as unrealistic, BJP Legislative Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy on Friday wondered whether the state government would not go for a revised estimate. He predicted that there could be a fiscal deficit of around Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 crore.
“This government is boasting of increasing the size of the Budget while there could be a fiscal deficit of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 crore. I want to quote the then Leader of Opposition, K Jana Reddy, who said that the government didn’t estimate the FRBM loans, grants-in-aid, and revenue income,” Maheshwar Reddy said, while speaking during the discussion on the Budget in the Assembly.
Maheshwar Reddy accused the state government of not allocating funds to the six guarantees.
He said that while the Congress promised to implement these guarantees in 15 months, it has not even started issuing new pensions to eligible beneficiaries. He also questioned the state government about when it would issue new pensions and enhance them to Rs 4,000.
The BJP leader said that the government didn’t allocate funds for the Mahalakshmi scheme that aims to give Rs 2,500 to elderly women in every household, mopeds to girl students, and 10 grams of gold as part of the Kalyana Lakshmi/Shaadi Mubarak schemes.
“When the Andhra Pradesh government, which is also reeling under debts, is capable of enhancing pensions to Rs 4,000, why is it not possible in Telangana?” he asked.
Stating that the state government didn’t allocate funds for irrigation projects in North Telangana, Maheshwar Reddy said that farmers’ irrigation woes are not due to natural causes but result from the state government’s actions.