Hyderabad: With the TS government changing its Budget priorities, important sectors like education, health, housing etc. may not see much of a hike in Budget allocations in financial year 2017-18. These departments will now have to depend even more on the Central government for funds. A senior official said that the new Budget will be rural and BC centric.
In the present financial year, the health department was allocated 43.8 per cent more funds than the previous year, but 2017-18 will not be such a good year for it. The total Budget will be around Rs 1.45 lakh-crore, a senior official estimated, saying that he believed around Rs 30,000 crore would be allotted for welfare schemes. Apart from this, the finance minister would allot Rs 25,000 crore for irrigation and Rs 20,000 crore for the SC, ST Sub-Plan.
The non plan expenditure is unlikely to be increased from the Rs 62,785 crore at present. It includes employees’ salaries and pensions. All these allotments will total about Rs 1.37 lakh crore, leaving the finance minister with around Rs 10,000 crore.
Caste-based vocations in luck:
Caste-based professions and occupations would hog the limelight in the state’s Budget 2017-18, expected to be presented to the Legislature by mid-March. All ministers, secretaries and HoDs are busy identifying caste-based professions and occupations in the districts. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has directed ministers and officials to come up with Budget proposals to encourage caste-based hereditary professions to boost economic activity in the state.
Caste-based professions and occupations used to be the major source of livelihood and income for the rural masses who form a major chunk of the state’s population. However, these professions have waned over the years due to various reasons like lack of encouragement from the government and economic reforms. The TS government now wants to revive these caste-based hereditary professions by giving the necessary impetus in the Budget in the form of special funds.
A special corporation “Most Backward Classes Development Corporation” is likely to be announced in the Budget. The CM wants to allocate huge funds for the corporations to extend financial assistance to MBCs to revive their caste-based occupations. This will be in addition to the already existing BC Development Corporation.
Minister for animal husbandry Talasani Srinivas Yadav said, “The focus would be on fishing, ship rearing and other caste-based occupations. CM wants special allocations for this sector, which will be the first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. This will boost the rural economy which in turn would increase state’s GDP.” The minister on Thursday held a meeting with officials in Secretariat to shortlist caste-based occupations that need attention in the Budget.
