Union Budget: Telangana ''neglected'', says deputy CM

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday alleged that the state was neglected in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He said the state had expected central funding in the budget for projects such as the Musi River rejuvenation, the Regional Ring Road, Hyderabad city development, Metro Rail expansion, and other infrastructure.

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday alleged that the state was neglected in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Addressing a press conference, he said that the state government had hoped that there would be something for Telangana in the Budget, but it did not receive allocations. To contribute to the Centre's ''Viksit Bharat'' (Developed India) goal, the state government has set a target of developing Telangana into a USD 3 trillion economy by 2047. To achieve this, the Centre should strengthen the foundations of Telangana's development and provide encouragement. Instead, it has completely ''neglected'' the state, he alleged. ''The people of Telangana are watching the negligent attitude of the Centre towards the state,'' he said. He further said along with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, state ministers met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the union ministers and also went as a delegation along with Members of Parliament and submitted representations seeking funds for the state's interests and development, but the ''absence'' of allocations in the budget has caused deep disappointment. He said the state had expected central funding in the budget for projects such as the Musi River rejuvenation, the Regional Ring Road, Hyderabad city development, Metro Rail expansion, and other infrastructure. The ''failure'' to include Telangana in the bio-pharma allocations announced by the Centre is extremely disappointing, he said. The central budget has allocated Rs 40,000 crore for electronics, and denying funds to Telangana even in this sector is ''unfair'', he said, adding Telangana was not even mentioned in the pharma hub initiatives. Vikramarka further said Telangana government has been focusing on sports and as part of the Global Summit and the Vision 2047 document, related events were organised with world-renowned athletes. Despite special emphasis on sports, Telangana was ''ignored'' by the Centre in the Budget, he said. ''In the Orange Economy, Hyderabad-centric activities were shifted to Mumbai. What wrong has Telangana done. Hyderabad is the biggest center for audio-video, gaming, and comics. Ignoring Hyderabad in the Orange Economy and choosing Mumbai instead is unjustified,'' he said. In the Regional Medical Value Hub initiative, other states were included, but Telangana was excluded, he said. ''For Musi River rejuvenation, we met the Prime Minister and Union Ministers and expected support, but nothing has come,'' Vikramarka said. He said there is no allocation of funds to the state even for the tourism sector. Despite having such rich tourism potential, the Centre has ignored Telangana, he alleged. The Centre has not focused on Telangana even in rare earth minerals, he said. The state-run Singareni Collieries is already running rare earth mineral processing to extract scandium and lithium in Sathupalli and Ramagundam, he pointed out. Despite Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Industries Minister Sridhar Babu meeting the Prime Minister and requesting approval for a semiconductor unit for Telangana, the budget granted such projects to other states while showing a ''step-motherly attitude'' towards Telangana, he alleged. This budget has not focused on the welfare of SCs, STs, and minorities, he claimed. ''What is required for economic growth was not provided. As a state government, it is our responsibility to continue meeting the Centre, and we will do so,'' he said. Vikramarka appealed to all Telangana MPs to rise above political differences during this budget session and submit representations to the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking fund allocations. ''The state requested the Centre to allow a fiscal deficit of four percent, but the Centre itself has set a fiscal deficit of 4.3 percent, while denying permission to Telangana. Is Telangana not an integral part of the country'', he asked. The Telangana deputy CM hoped the future budgets will be designed to enable infrastructure development that improves people's living standards and economic prospects.

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