Centre ignoring 15th FC recommendations: Harish Rao

Hyderabad: Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Monday said despite the 15th Finance Commission (FC) recommending a special package to Telangana, the Central government was not allocating any special funds to the State. “In the past, Central governments used to strictly follow Finance Commission recommendations but the BJP government has not considered its recommendations for […]

Hyderabad: Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Monday said despite the 15th Finance Commission (FC) recommending a special package to Telangana, the Central government was not allocating any special funds to the State.

“In the past, Central governments used to strictly follow Finance Commission recommendations but the BJP government has not considered its recommendations for a special package to Telangana,” Harish Rao said during Question Hour in the State Assembly. This issue was raised again during the recent GST Council meeting in Lucknow, he said.

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The Minister said despite Niti Aayog recommendations to allocate funds for the State government’s Mission Kakatiya and Mission Bhagiratha programmes, the Central government did not oblige.

“The Central government’s move to release funds after completion of GST period for 2022 citing Covid pandemic will have a serious impact on the State’s progress,” he said, replying to MLCs K Naveen Kumar and K Kavitha. Due to the pandemic, many States and the country too had registered negative growth, but Telangana registered a positive growth rate, he said.

Despite Covid impact, Telangana was the only State to implement 30 per cent Pay Revision Commission (PRC) while the Centre announced 15 per cent PRC for ten years, which works out to 7.5 per cent for five years, he said.

Implementing both Ayushman, Arogyasri

Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Monday said the Telangana government was providing medical treatment under both Arogyasri and Auyshman Bharat schemes in the State. Since the implementation of Ayushman Bharat in the State from May this year, over 1.18 lakh persons were provided medical treatment under the scheme, totalling about Rs 259 crore, he said during question hour in the State Legislative Council here.

Since 2014-15, over 10 lakh people were treated under the Arogyasri scheme in the State. Compared to Ayushman Bharat, the hospital reimbursement rates under the Arogyasri scheme was much better, he said, adding that under Ayushman Bharat, only 26.11 lakh families in the State were eligible while under Arogyasri, 87.50 lakh families were eligible.

“If only Ayushman Bharat is implemented, about 60 lakh families will not be eligible for treatment. Considering these factors, the State is implementing both the schemes,” Harish Rao said, adding that without relying much on private hospitals, the State government was extending Covid and Black Fungus treatment successfully in government hospitals.

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