The Budget session of the Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly is likely to be stormy, with the Opposition parties, particularly the Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS), seeking to pressure the Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy Government, over the separate State issue yet again.

The session will begin with the joint address by the Governor, Mr E.S.L. Narasimhan, to both the houses of legislature on February 17. The Budget is likely to be presented on February 23, by the State Finance Minister, Mr Anam Ramnarayana Reddy. This will be his maiden Budget.

The budget session is likely to go on till March end, and will have to tackle a wide range of topics apart from the main finance agenda. Issues relating to floods and relief measures, farm sector related concerns, and the recent scholarship issue will be top among the agenda.

While the TRS chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhara Rao, had recently hinted that his party will bring a no-confidence motion during the session, he also challenged the opposition TDP to support the move.

In the past two-three years, the Budget had crossed the Rs 1 lakh-crore mark. However, meeting targets has been tough due to tardy receipts. According to Government sources, several Departments are facing a financial crunch and are finding it hard to allocate funds. This includes funds for scholarships to students and various irrigation projects under the ambitious Jalayagnam programme.

The Centre has been lately emphasising that the subsidy component needed to be balanced. This would mean having a fresh look at subsidies and also bringing it down in some sectors. By and large, the emphasis is likely to be on judicious use of funds and cutting down subsidies.

The Chief Minister has task cut out. He will have to balance the available funds and meet all the elaborate welfare schemes that the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Government had initiated. This would be quite a challenging task as the requirement for welfare schemes is growing by the day.

Related Topics