Editorial: Another dose of despair
Neglecting progressive States like Telangana once again demonstrates that Modi’s catchphrase “Team India” is just a slogan
If one was expecting the union Budget to address the concerns of the States in a spirit of true federalism and seek to alleviate the sufferings of the vulnerable sections of society, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s presentation has come as a thorough disappointment. The 2022-23 Budget, which had raised high hopes from a nation struggling to recover from the devastating pandemic, has turned out to be high on rhetoric and low on substance. More appalling was the slash in budgetary support for the welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, fertilizer subsidies and the rural employment guarantee scheme. The complete neglect of the interests of the States has once again demonstrated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oft-repeated catchphrase “Team India” to describe the spirit of cooperative federalism is just an empty slogan. It appears that political considerations are allowed to guide economic decisions. Nothing illustrates this better than the step-motherly treatment being meted out to a progressive State like Telangana. For a State that has set an example for the rest of the country in terms of innovative welfare and development schemes, Telangana has been handed out a raw deal by the Centre. Be it the failure to keep the promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, an arbitrary slash in the allocation of funds or deliberate volte-face on the promised development projects, the NDA government’s approach has been callous and disappointing. With no relief in Income Tax slabs, the Budget has left the working class in a lurch while farmers have nothing to cheer about. For the bottom of the pyramid that bore the brunt of job losses during the pandemic, it did not offer any major support.
Despite unprecedented economic distress which hurt the poor the hardest, the Budget persisted with the government interventions on the supply side. For progressive States, the disappointment is all the more acute as the Centre has been consistently unresponsive to their legitimate needs. The State government had made repeated requests pertaining to nearly 35 pending issues, including assurances given under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, but none found any mention. The list of unfulfilled promises is quite long: Bayyaram Steel Plant, Tribal University, Navodaya Vidyalayas, Information Technology Investment Regions and Kazipet railway coach factory. Ironically, Telangana is made to suffer because of the discriminatory and politically biased attitude of the Centre at a time when more and more States are emulating development initiatives of the country’s youngest State. It is unfortunate that despite Telangana contributing a lion’s share to the country’s economy, the Centre is showing discrimination in the allocation of funds. The Budget was silent on the State’s request for support for development of industrial corridors, Hyderabad Pharma City, mega handloom cluster and textile park and other industrial infrastructure development projects.
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