Officials keep fingers crossed over allocations to TS in Union Budget

State seeks expeditious release of entire GST compensation dues

The Telangana government is keeping its fingers crossed over the allocations to be made to the State in the Union Budget 2021-22 to be presented in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on Monday.

The government is apparently not harbouring any hopes of big announcements forthcoming in the Union Budget. The officials concerned are waiting for the allocations that the Centre would make in response to the series of representations made to different Union Ministries seeking expeditious release of funds to the State. Given the shadow cast by the coronavirus pandemic on Central revenues, uncertainty prevails over whether the MPs from the State would mount pressure on the Centre for conceding the requests made by the State.

This was corroborated by the comments made by TRS MPs over continuance of friendly relations with the Centre. The MPs could confine themselves to requesting the Centre to make sector specific allocations in the event of allocations not matching expectations. One of the major demands from the State was expeditious release of entire GST compensation dues as the State is more financially strained than the Centre.

Finance Minister T. Harish Rao said in a recent letter to the Union Finance Minister that tax devolution during the current year (upto December) was lower by ₹3,733 crore compared to the devolution during the corresponding period last fiscal. The nagging issue of proliferation of the centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) was another area that need to be addressed.

Instead of reducing their number, these schemes had been grouped under 28 umbrella heads. Following the recommendation of the sub-group of Chief Ministers on the rationalisation of CSS, of which our Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is a member, it was decided by the Union government that a facility of optional schemes would be provided to the States. Under this facility, States would have flexibility of portability from the optional schemes to any other CSS within the budgetary allocation for the State, Mr. Rao said in his letter.

Though the decision was taken in 2016, it was yet to be implemented. “I request that the Union Budget 2021-22 may offer a bouquet of optional schemes to States,” he said. Mr. Rao also requested the Centre to enhance the monthly pension under the National Social Assistance Programme from ₹200 to at least ₹1,000.

One of the important concerns of the State with regard to Central taxes was the increasing resort to the levy of cesses and surcharges, the proceeds of which were not shareable with States. This had in turn resulted in reduction of the size of divisible pool of central taxes. “Most of the cesses and surcharges are levied for the purposes included in the State list impinging on the autonomy of State. A beginning may be made in the Union Budget 2021-22 to merge some of the cesses with basic rates,” he said.

The State could reiterate its request for linking agriculture with rural employment guarantee scheme, setting up of ITIR, regional ring road and turmeric board in Telangana besides expediting the ongoing works on national highways and railway lines.

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