Editorial: Mark of resilience
The 2023-24 Budget with an outlay of over Rs 2.90 lakh crore bears testimony to the resilience of Telangana in the face of adversities
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Telangana has proved this by its stellar performance despite twin challenges — deliberate discrimination from the Centre and the pandemic-induced disruption. The 2023-24 Budget with an outlay of over Rs 2.90 lakh crore bears testimony to the resilience of the State in the face of adversities, both natural and manmade. The Budget, presented by Finance Minister T Harish Rao, reflects a seamless blending of welfare with development and highlights a long-term vision and an unflinching commitment to the welfare of the disadvantaged sections of society. Welfare remains the major focus of the Budget as borne out by massive allocations for the uplift of the vulnerable sections, be it Rs 17,700 crore for ‘Dalit Bandhu’, meant to provide financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh per SC family for self-employment, Rs 12,000 crore for ‘Aasara’ pensions, Rs 36,750 crore for the SC Welfare Special Fund and Rs 15,223 crore for the welfare of the ST communities. Since the formation of the State, irrigation, agriculture, power, and Panchayat Raj and rural development sectors have been getting the lion’s share of the budgetary allocations and the results are there for everyone to see. Telangana’s innovative welfare and development programmes have become role models for other States.
The Niti Aayog has concluded that Telangana is the fastest growing State in the country. Since 2014, Telangana has been recording higher-than-the-national average growth rate and its share in the national GDP has gone up from 4.1% in 2014-15 to 4.9% by 2020-21.
This is despite the hurdles being created by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre in terms of the release of funds and sanctioning of new projects. Clearly guided by political motives, the Centre has been putting obstacles in the path of Telangana’s progress, be it cancellation of key projects like ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) and the neglect of long-pending proposals like Bayyaram steel factory and Kazipet coach factory. The promises made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act have remained unfulfilled. Though the NITI Aayog had recommended the release of Rs 24,205 crore for ‘Mission Bhagiratha’ and ‘Mission Kakatiya’ schemes, the Centre has totally neglected it. Ironically, Telangana is made to suffer because of the politically biased attitude of the Centre at a time when more and more States are emulating its development initiatives. The fact that Telangana withstood the havoc of the pandemic is a testimony to the strong foundations laid since the formation of the State for a sustained and resilient economy. Improvements in power supply, increase in irrigated areas as a result of new projects and implementation of many development and welfare schemes helped in improving the growth rate. During the last eight years, Telangana is the only State whose contribution to the national economy has grown by almost 1%.
