Hyderabad Budget Critique: T. Harish Rao Slams Congress Government for Unfulfilled Promises
In a scathing critique of the Telangana state budget, Siddipet MLA and former Finance Minister T. Harish Rao has sharply criticized the Congress government for failing to meet its pre-election promises. Speaking to the media on Thursday, Rao expressed concern over what he described as a budget lacking both “clear direction” and sufficient allocation for promised social welfare schemes.
Rao’s critique centers on the Congress government’s failure to back its pre-election ‘six guarantees’ with the necessary financial provisions. “The budget presented by the state government is marked by self-praise and misplaced blame,” Rao asserted. “It falls short of meeting the people’s expectations by failing to allocate funds for the promised schemes.”
Among the notable omissions, Rao highlighted the absence of funding for critical areas such as the filling of two lakh government job vacancies, and key welfare schemes including the Rs 2,500 monthly income for women under the Mahalakshmi scheme, pension increases to Rs 4,000, new ration cards, Rs 4,000 honorarium for the unemployed, and Rs 12,000 for auto workers.
Rao also criticized the government’s proposed debt management strategy, questioning the rationale behind plans to raise Rs 57,000 crore in debt—Rs 17,000 crore more than the previous administration. He noted discrepancies in revenue projections from excise, with the current budget proposing Rs 25,617 crore compared to his estimated Rs 18,470 crore. “Are they planning to open a wine shop on every street? Their claims of generating Rs 15,000 crore more from excise and VAT combined raise serious concerns,” Rao remarked.
Further questioning the budget’s credibility, Rao pointed out the lack of increase in pension allocations from last year’s estimates, and criticized the government for not meeting its promise of waiving farm loans by August 15 with only Rs 15,470 crore allocated out of the promised Rs 31,000 crore. Additionally, the proposed allocation for the welfare of Backward Classes (BCs) was significantly lower than the promised Rs 20,000 crore, coming in at only Rs 9,000 crore.
Rao also took issue with reductions in funding for irrigation projects, which saw a drop from Rs 26,825 crore last year to Rs 22,300 crore in the current budget. Promises to increase Dalit Bandhu benefits from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh per beneficiary were similarly unmet, and there was no mention of the Girijan Bandhu scheme.
In his final remarks, Rao questioned the government’s revenue projections from stamp duty, which have risen by Rs 4,000 crore compared to last year. This, he suggested, implied an unexplained increase in land values and registration fees.
Rao concluded his remarks by expressing disappointment with the budget, stating it “shattered” the hopes of the people. His critique underscores a broader dissatisfaction with the government’s financial strategy and its ability to deliver on its pre-election commitments.
