Centre to hold meet today, Harish to present wish list
Sitharaman to meet all state FMs today as budget exercise
The Telangana state government has readied a long ‘wish list’ for Union Budget 2022-23, set to be presented in Parliament on February 1. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to hold a meeting with finance ministers of all states as part of the prebudget exercise on Thursday.
Telangana finance minister T. Harish Rao will participate in this meeting and submit the state government’s ‘wish list’ to Nirmala Sitharaman.
Officials of the finance department on Wednesday held a meeting in the Secretariat to discuss and finalise the
issues that need to be taken to the notice of the Centre ahead of the Union Budget.
Official sources said the major demands of the state government included increase in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limit by 2 per cent to enable the state government to borrow more in the wake of the state's finances taking a hit due to Covid waves since March 2020.
States are allowed to avail loans up to 3 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) as per FRMB Act. However, revenue-surplus states like Telangana are allowed to take an additional 5 per cent loans amounting to 3.5 per cent of GSDP. But the state government wants this limit to be raised to 5 per cent to mobilise funds for development programmes and welfare schemes.
The state government also wants the Centre to announce in the Union Budget granting ‘national status’ to either Kaleshwaram project or Pranahitha Chevella project. The state government wants the Centre to address the long-pending 'state bifurcation promises' of setting up of Bayyaram steel factory, Kazipet rail coach factory and tribal university.
It will also pitch for approvals and funds to long-pending HyderabadWarangal industrial corridor and HyderabadNagpur industrial corridor to spur industrial growth in Telangana besides seeking `50 crore backward areas grants each to all districts barring Hyderabad.
The other major demand of the state government is that the Centre should give a share to states in various cesses being collected by the Centre on fuel, health, education etc.